


Beneath the Waves

by Dead_in_the_water



Category: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Allura & Lance (Voltron) are Siblings, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, How Do I Tag, I have no idea what I'm doing, M/M, Romance...Kinda...Imma try at least, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:21:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23419693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dead_in_the_water/pseuds/Dead_in_the_water
Summary: The city of Atlantis is dying, and Lance doesn't know what to do about it. All of his plans keep getting pushed aside in favor of ignoring the problem, hoping it will fix itself.He's stuck.That is until a pretty eyed mullet head finds his way to the hidden city. Could this be the answer Lance has been looking for?Keith's parents disappeared on an expedition to find the Lost City of Atlantis. He has vowed to find out what happened to them on their journey. The only problem is he can't get the funding. Will he ever find out what happened to his family?
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 32





	1. In a Single Day

**Author's Note:**

> So... this is my very first fanfic ever and to be honest, I have no idea what the heck I'm doing... but imma do it anyway. 
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it! 
> 
> So... Yeah enjoy!

“In a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the sea.” - Plato, 360 B.C.  
~~  
The day started out like any other. The sun was bright and the sky was clear of any kind of cloud that Lance could possibly see. His father had met them for breakfast and had told them that he was sending out scouts today to make sure that their border was secure. When Lance asked why The king had only shaken his head and grabbed ahold of Lance's little hand. 

“That is something you shouldn't worry about, son. We are perfectly safe where we are right now.” And then the subject had changed to what his children's Plans were for the day. 

Lance tried not to dwell too much on why his father wouldn't share his plans. Perhaps it was because they were still considered children. Which was stupid if you asked him. 

Allura had said that she was studying the Greek language today and Lance rolled his eyes. There were so many better things to do than waste your time studying another language. He himself had planned on going on an adventure. Maybe finding some kind of hiding place just to relax and dream of exploring the world. Or maybe coerce the Castle guards into teaching him to spar today. Either option sounded good to him. 

He didn't tell his father about that though. 

“Not much papa. I was going to do some reading and maybe hang out in the garden this afternoon.” is what he actually said. 

“Well as long as you do some kind of learning today. I’ve heard from Coran that you have been falling behind in your tutoring.” Alfor says. “Leandro, you know how important it is to be educated.”

I know papa I’ll study today.” Lance says looking down to where his hands are clasped in his lap. “I’ll try to do better.” 

A soft smile makes its way onto the king’s face. 

“You will do great things son. I know it. But first, you have to learn how to do those great things I know you are capable of. The tutors aren’t there to steal your fun. They are there to help you achieve what I know you can do.” 

Even after his father's speech about achieving greatness, Lance found himself seated on the top of the castle, among the statues and carvings he had found there. 

It's where he felt safe, secure and close to the heavens. Close to adventure. Where he could dream up the meanings of those ancient carvings with lions and bright lights.

It's this place that he goes to hide from his teachers, from Coran. Even Allura didn’t know about this spot. 

From here he can see the pod of soldiers leaving in their tidae’s. Out across the sea on another adventure. 

He couldn't wait to do that someday. Have his own tidae. Make his way across the world visiting each culture learning about what’s out there. Though, for the time being, his father insisted on his education, but more than that his safety. 

He sighed.

“I suppose I should be getting back to my tutors,” he mumbled. 

His hand found its way to the small Lioness that was strung on a simple black cord around his neck. Carved out of an Aquawa crystal. A gift. It had been his mothers before she had passed away during childbirth. His birth. He keeps the lioness on him at all times. He feels a little closer to his mother this way. To a mother, he never really knew. 

He makes his way down the statue, careful to not let his bare feet lose their grip on the rough stone beneath them. He makes his way down to the rooftop courtyard where he can see Coran frantically running around. No doubt looking for him. 

He smirks. Coran isn't in his office right now. He's gonna need a piece of rope, some bread, and a chicken. And pray to the ancients that Coran says out of his office for a while.

________________________________________________________________________

It's evening, just after supper, when Lance finds Allura on the rooftop Courtyard.

It was quiet. Really quiet up here. Allura sat to his right with her pen and her journal out writing… whatever it was that she was writing. He took a deep breath. 

It's been years since his mother passed. He had tried to ask his father about her but had never gotten a straight answer. Coran melted into tears whenever someone started talking about the late queen and Allura usually avoided the question altogether. 

“Lura?” He asked. Though it went unnoticed by his sister. He tried again determined to finally gain some sort of picture of the woman who gave him life. He tried again. 

“Lura?” This time the only response he gained was a slight eye roll and a nudge from her shoulder to tell him that she was listening, but didn't plan on pausing her writing. 

“What was mama like?” 

This was the question that made her pause. Pen tip still pressed firmly against the paper. Lance saw, more than heard, the breath of air that made its way into his sister's lungs. 

For a long moment, Lance wasn't sure that she was going to say anything. Slowly, she put her book down, the pen finding its way to rest on top of the bench that they were sitting on. 

Allura looked out over the city. The sun far off in the distance making its way past the horizon. Further still were the places that the two of them had yet to visit. Egypt. Greece. China. All the places that their father promised to take them when they were older. 

Lance looked out over the city. Mimicking his sister. He wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for or if she would even find it. But he looked anyway. Taking in the buildings rising up everywhere, where he knew the people of this city were getting ready to finish their days. Shops were closing and children, much like himself, were rushing home where their mothers were waiting for them. 

A few more moments went by. 

“She was beautiful,” Allura said in a small voice. Lance could almost sigh in relief at her hesitant words. However, He kept silent, not wanting to interrupt whatever Allura was going to say next. 

“Father says I look exactly like her, but I think you look more like her than anything. You have her eyes.” She turned to Lance and held out her hand which he took knowing how difficult this topic was for her. 

In some ways, he was grateful that he never knew his mother. How could you possibly miss someone that you didn't know at all? But in moments like this, he remembers that he wasn't the only one to lose a mother that day. That he wasn’t the only one missing what could have been. 

“She liked to think that she was funny. Papa and I laughed at all her jokes even if they weren't funny. She loved the sea.” 

The fingers on her left hand had found their way to the little shell necklace that sat around her neck. The pink shells collected there sparkled in the setting sun. 

“She loved us too. I remember her being so excited when she and papa said they were having another baby! She was always talking to you and making me do it too even when you were still in her belly. She even got papa doing it too.” 

“There you two are!” a new voice cut through making both royals jump in their seats. 

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” Coran says. “Your father was wondering if you two wanted to go for a walk… Lance, what's wrong my boy?” 

It was then that both children realized that their faces were soaked in tears. 

Allura sniffed.

“We’re alright Coran. We were just talking about Mother.” 

Coran's face softened from worry into fond sadness. 

“Ah yes, our wonderful queen. She loved you two more than she loved this city.” 

Tears started to pool in Coran's eyes and that was when both children turned to one another and agreed that a crying Coran was something that neither of them wanted to deal with. 

“You said that Father was looking for us?” Lance said as he got up from the bench, wiping at his eyes, effectively snapping the advisor out of his daze. 

“Hm? Ah yes, my boy. He’s waiting for you two downstairs by the doors.” 

The three of them made their way through the castle each with their own little smile on their faces. 

“There are my beautiful children!” King Alfor boasts, arms spreading wide as Allura and Lance run up and into his arms. 

“Where are we going, Papa?” Lance asks once they’ve let go. 

“To the docks. I have some business with the sailors there today and I thought I would take you two with me I think that it would be in our best interest to get out of the house for a little while” 

Alfor reached for the two little hands of his children as he led them through the door of the palace. Their loyal Advisor trailing behind them.

As they walk by, the people of Atlantis call out good evenings and hellos and long live the royal family. Children wave from behind their parent's legs and dogs run up to them to gain affection. 

In the distance, there's an explosion. Everyone freezes at the same time. A moment passes and everyone relaxes until the sound of the emergency bell rings through the city. 

“Everyone to the shelters! This is not a drill! Everyone to the shelters!”

“Lance, Allura, come with me!” Alfor says before making his way back around to where the castle is. 

In their hurry, Lance had forgotten about the grip he had on the necklace that his mother had left for him. His father grabs a tighter hold on his hand and leads him away with more force than he probably intended. The old cord of the necklace snaps and falls from its place around Lance’s neck. 

Immediately Lance throws himself into reverse. Relieving himself from his father's grip turning to run for the necklace that's now laying on the ground a few feet behind them. 

The crystal above them turns the sky red in its panic as an enormous wave makes its presence known. It looks far off the coast, but lance can see that it's rapidly approaching.

A few beams of light search. For what, lance doesn't know, and at the moment doesn't care. That necklace is the only thing he has from his mother and he is not going to lose it. 

He can hear his father above the panic of the crowd yelling at him but it's Allura who comes up behind him grabbing a hold on the back of his sash. 

“Lance just leave it! There’s no time!” She yells in his ear doing her best to wrestle him back to where their King is waiting for them. And then the sky loses the red tinge. 

They both turn to where their father had been standing only to see him slowly rising to where the crystal hangs above the city. The beam of blue-white light tracked on him. 

“Papa!” lance shouts running towards the beam, hands raised. Allura catches him from behind and forces herself in between her father and her brother. 

“Close your eyes, Lance! Look away.” 

He can feel a rising panic in his chest. He desperately tries to get out of Allura’s grip but it's no use. She’s so much stronger than he is. He melts into her chest, tears streaming down his cheeks. 

“I can't lose him too. I won't lose him. I can’t… I can’t”

“Shh, lance. It's gonna be okay. We’re okay. It's alright.” the words are supposed to be a comfort to him, he knows this, but as he looks up to the sky where his father has disappeared into the crystal He can't seem to find that comfort. 

All of a sudden streaks of light find their way from the crystal and out to the edges of the city. One to the north. Past the canyons of the Balmara. One to the south past the forests of Olkari. One to the east, beyond the sea of Luxia. One to the west To where the Three Peaks reside: Krell, Arus, and Naxzela. And one directly below to where Lance Knows the Castle sits, at the heart of the city. 

The wave is gaining on them. It edges closer and closer and all of a sudden there is a Tremble in the earth. A great blue Force field builds around the city and its outskirts as they sink into the ground.  
Lance watches as the wave finally makes its way to the city. He shuts his eyes ready for the inevitable just as Coran Finds them and holds them tightly in his arms. 

The wave never comes.

Lance still has his eyes closed when the trembling earth stands still. He Doesn't dare raise his head from where it is pressed against Allura’s arm. There are tears still soaking his eyes when his sister finally pulls away. There's a small gasp that makes its way from her mouth that finally convinces Lance to open his eyes. 

The force field has faded. In its place steam rises from where the water from the sea is falling off the side of where the force field had ended. There is no sky. At least from what he can tell. It's dark. Darker than it should have been. It wasn't nearly the dark of night but they could no longer see the sun. Everything had a blue filter over it. The light didn’t even look that real. There was something ethereal. Otherworldly about it. 

“Where’s papa?” his voice seemed to cut through the awe that was filling the air. Coran and Allura turned to him. 

“Where is he, Lura?” He asked again, his voice coming out stronger. 

“I don’t know,” she answered in the smallest voice he had ever heard from her. 

He broke down again, not noticing the necklace that was now sitting by his feet beginning to glow if only for a moment before lying dormant waiting for the time it would be reunited with its pride. 

_________________________________________________________________________

“It is found that the environment that we find ourselves in has slowed our aging process to an extreme,” Coran explains to Allura. 

It's been 15 years since Atlantis disappeared from the upper world due to forces unknown.  
Lance had just celebrated his 22nd birthday and yet looks no older than the day he lost his father. Allura, now Queen, is in a similar predicament. As is the case with the rest of their citizens.

At first, they had thought that it was some kind of weird immortality situation. However, all of their doctors and scientists have been working diligently to uncover the truth. 

A sigh comes from the head of the table. 

“There is nothing we can do about it I suppose.” Allura states as she gets up from her place to wander over to the large window of the dining room. 

“We will just have to live as we have been since our beginning. Tell the people it's nothing to worry about. Just a side effect of the crystal.” 

With a nod, Coran backs out of the room and suddenly it's just the two siblings alone. 

“So how long do you think it’ll take for my voice to crack down here?” 

It's a diversion tactic. Both of them know that.

Lance's way of clearing the tension that’s built ever since Atlantis was lost. 

“With any luck, it’ll disappear rather than change.” is Allura's reply.

Lance’s overdramatic gasp could probably be heard all the way to the courtyard. 

“You take that back, Lura! My voice is wonderful!” 

A small giggle escapes her lips, which Lance counts as a success before she rolls her eyes. 

“I’m sure you think so Lance.” Is her response before she turns to glide out of the room. A small smile graces her face as she pats lance’s head on her way out the door. 

“Don’t worry little brother. You’ll get bigger soon.” She says, “ And don't forget about tomorrow's meeting with the builders. The bridge heading into Krell has hit a snag in its construction and I’d like for you to be there.” 

And then she’s gone, and Lance is standing in the middle of the room, his smile slowly falling as he looks out the window and over the dark city. 

He can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen or already is happening. 

His hand finds his lioness. The only thing he has that belonged to his mother. 

It’s a comfort to him, it's a piece of her. The little blue lioness with the blue jeweled eyes helps him to hold on to someone he never really knew, yet loves very deeply and misses just as much. 

He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. 

Allura wants him at the meeting and if he wants to arrive on time he better head to bed now otherwise he won't have time to get ready. 

________________________________________________________________________

1660 years have passed. 1660 years of seclusion. No access to the outside world. 1660 years of nothing until scouts send word that the Leviathan has awoken. Mind you this isn't the first time it's awoken however, it is the first time someone has made it past the beast of the depths. 

Hopefully, they are able to help. 

“Lance, I need you to take your soldiers and find out more about what exactly has made its way past our defenses,” Allura says. 

“Of course your majesty.” He retorts and shifts away. Allura ignores his snarky reply as he signals for the four soldiers standing behind him to follow. 

The way down to the armory was quiet. The soldiers under his command exchanged nervous glances amongst themselves. 

Lance stays calm. Maybe this is the chance that their civilization needs. 

He has spent decades, no centuries trying to convince Allura that they should go to the surface. Seek out help for their dying culture. It had never worked. She had always turned down any of his ideas. If he could just gain a little proof that the people from the surface were not as bad as Allura made them seem. Maybe he could help save what little they have left. 

Maybe he could finally feel like he belonged where he was. 

He grasped at the lioness that still sat around his neck. 

Maybe it would finally bring him the luck that he so desperately needed. Maybe even a little bit of adventure. 

Maybe a little bit of hope.


	2. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a proposition to make to the board at the museum. It doesn't go as well as planned.

“Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.”  
~Martin Luther King Jr.~

_________________________________________________________________________

The afternoon was humid. Way too humid in Keith's opinion. Even with the windows open and the air circulating. He was sure that he was dying. Though he didn't know if it was because of the heat, or because of the proposal he and pidge were practicing. Bringing this kind of presentation to his boss and the people he works for is more than he can handle. 

“Are you sure that they’ll listen to this proposal?” Keith asks, flipping through his queue cards at an alarming rate. His hands shook slightly. From the stress or the excitement, he wasn't entirely sure. He didn't really care which one it was, he just really wanted it to stop. 

“Good afternoon ladies and Gentlemen on the board. I Would like to thank you for taking the time to hear our proposal.” Pidge announces. A snicker can be heard from the audience which is quickly silenced with a glare from the small freckled human at the front. 

Pidge gestured for him to continue with the script as planned with one last glare to their brothers who were acting as their audience in their living room for the time being. 

“Now we’ve all heard of the legend of Atlantis, an island somewhere in the mid-Atlantic that was home to an advanced civilization, possessing technology far beyond our own, that according to Plato was suddenly sunk beneath the sea after experiencing some kind of natural disaster.” Keith breathed with the last word he spoke. Letting out a shaky exhale before taking another breath. A little stronger than before. 

“Now some of you may ask, Why Atlantis? It’s just a myth, isn’t It? Pure fantasy. Well, that’s where you’re wrong.” Pidge said as they clicked a button on the little remote in their hand, showing a slide of the presentation which held a picture of the sphinx as well as the pyramid of Giza.

“10,000 years before the Egyptians built the pyramids, Atlantis had electricity,” a picture of runes that had been found took the place of the pyramids. They depicted a person kneeling before an energy source. To be honest even Keith thought that it could be anything but Pidge had insisted that this would help their case and he trusted that Pidge knew what they were doing. 

“advanced medicine,” A new slide. One that suspiciously looks like Leonardo Davinci’s The Vitruvian Man (1490). But he wasn't about to face Pidge’s wrath by pointing it out. So he kept silent.

“even the power of flight.” This slide was even more far fetched than any of the other ones. Honestly, it looked like someone put a little Aztec man in a speech bubble. How exactly that was supposed to depict flight, Keith wasn't really sure.

“Impossible, you say? Well no, no, not for them.” 

Keith sighed. He wasn’t even too sure what he was doing here. Well, he knew what he was supposed to be doing, what he was meant to be doing, but he wasn't good at this whole… thing. The presenting part.

He didn't like people. Didn’t like their judgy stares, or their attitudes, or trying to pretend that he’s something that he’s not just to gain favor, or funding, from someone. 

Sure, he was the best linguist in the world when it came to dead languages, even if he was only 24 - but why did he have to suck up to a bunch of old people at the museum and pretend like he doesn't have an ulterior motive for this expedition. 

“Numerous ancient cultures all over the globe agree that Atlantis possessed a power source of some kind. More powerful than steam, than coal. More powerful than Nuclear Energy. And 100% less radioactive.” Pidge continued.

This is what Pidge was excited about. Science. Then figuring out how it works, Taking it apart bit by bit and putting it back together just so they would know. They did that to his laptop once. He was afraid to use it after that, even after they insisted that it was in better condition than when he bought it brand new. 

Pidge wanted to know how Atlantis worked Centuries ago. Keith wanted to find out what happened to his parents. Taking a trip to find Atlantis would state both of their curiosities. If they could get the funding that is. 

“Gentlemen We propose that we find Atlantis, find that power source and bring it back to the surface.” 

Great now it was his turn. Don’t fuck this up Kogane. He says to himself before stepping up to take the small remote from Pidge. 

“Nowthisisapagefromanilluminatedtextthat describesabookcalledthe Shepherd'sJournal saidtohavebeenafirsthandaccountofAtlantisanditsexactwhereabouts.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Pidge exchange looks with Matt and Shiro before Shiro interrupted his part of the presentation. 

“You know you don’t have to go that fast, slow down a little bit. Take a break. This isn’t one of your races.” 

This earns him a glare but Keith takes the advice anyways. He takes in a shaky inhale and lets out an equally shaky exhale before he brings his cards back up to his face. He gets a thumbs up from both Shiro and Matt before starting again. 

“Now, this is a page from an illuminated text that describes a book called The Shepherd's Journal, said to have been a firsthand account of Atlantis and its exact whereabouts.” 

He can tell from the pleased faces of his friends that that was a much better attempt. So he continues. 

“Now based on a centuries-old translation of a Norse text, historians believe the journal resides in Ireland. However, after comparing the text to the runes on this Viking shield I found that the letters had been mistranslated. So by changing this letter and inserting the correct one, we found that the shepherd's journal, the key to Atlantis lies not in Ireland. But in Iceland.” Another smaller breath. He’s got this. 

“Pause for effect.” He hasn’t got this. 

He looks up in horror as Pidge starts cackling. Matt and Shiro aren't much better. Though he can tell that Shiro is at least trying to be discrete. 

“Oh come on guy’s I didn’t mean to say it out loud. Seriously” 

It took the three of them a few more minutes to calm themselves down. 

And then the phone was ringing. Keith sighed in relief at the familiar tone cutting through the gasps for breath and went to answer it. 

“Cartography and Linguistics Keith Kogane speaking.”

“ Listen you slimy little toad.” 

Keith huffs. Great. Sendak. Just what he needed to make today even better. Note the sarcasm. 

“I’m getting no signal from my computer at all. You tell the tiny brat that something needs to be done immediately or else you and she are done at this establishment.” He’s basically shouting in Keith's ear at this point, and Keith doesn't bother to correct him saying that he doesn't really have the authority to fire him and Pidge, but he tries to reign in his frustration. So far so good.

“Yeah. Uh, just, just a second. Pidge! I need you to restart the router in office 4-c.” 

Pidge scoffs under their breath, but makes their way to their computer and restarts the router to Sendack’s office without another complaint. Sometimes it's just better to not bother with rude people then give them the satisfaction of frustrating you to no end. 

“How’s that? Is that better?” But then again sometimes you just can't help it. There's a little bite to Keith’s voice when he asks the question, and it seems that Sendak has picked up on it.

“Listen, you little fucker.” 

Keith makes a small little huff as Sendack continues. 

“I don't know who you think you are. I could destroy you with the snap of my fingers if I wanted to. You're not as valuable as you think you are. You're replaceable.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah. I’m not entirely sure how you got this job in the first place. It's not like you’re a valuable asset to the museum. You're just a poor little orphan boy who can't seem to stay in his place. At the feet of everyone else.” 

“You're welcome for the reboot. Have a great day.” Keith bit out and promptly hung up the phone.

“That motherfucker. Who the fuck does he think he is?” 

Shiro, Pidge and Matt exchange uneasy looks as Shiro slowly gets up from his spot on the couch. 

“Keith take a breath. “

“He’s just…. Ugh,” His clenched fist had almost made it to the whiteboard when he felt metal encasing his wrist, effectively holding him back.

“I know, I know but you can’t let it get to you like that. Punching the whiteboard isn't gonna help either.”

“So what? I just ignore it?” 

“Yes! You’re gonna have to. Don’t give him the satisfaction.”

Keith scowls as Shiro gives him a sympathetic look.

“Look why don’t you finish your presentation? Hmm?” 

Keith grumbles under his breath but gets back into position. Grabbing the clicker from the coffee table. 

“Now, as you can see by the… by this, um, map…” He keeps clicking through their slides but there’s no picture of the map that he made. He’s seething at this point and walks up to the whiteboard behind them. Three minutes later and it's not the best map that he’s ever drawn. The lines are a little harsh and he’s pretty sure that where he's marked the x is not actually where The Shepherd's Journal is located, but at this point, he could care less. 

“That I’ve drawn, I plotted the route that will take myself and a crew to the southern coast of Iceland to retrieve the journal.” he might have been a little too harsh with that sentence. Shiro brings up his hand across his chest in a ‘breathe’ motion and Keith gives it a shot.

He focuses on relaxing his feet then his calves, His thighs are next, followed by his hips, his stomach, and his chest. Shoulders, neck, and head are last and he feels a little lighter than he did before with his anger holding him down.

Another deep breath in and he's ready to continue. 

“Within the same passage that contains the whereabouts of The Shepherd's Journal, a separate passage was found. ‘ Where the water meets the darkest of night. Here you will find, enclosed within a carved face, a guiding light.’” He smiles a little to himself. His mother had found that passage. Immediately his hand reaches for the little red lion that sits around his neck on a small silver chain. A gift from his mother before his parents had left on their last journey. 

“Now where the water meets the darkest of night. This most likely refers to the Black Sand beach of Southern Iceland. Now the question is which one?” 

“Iceland is known for its beautiful beaches. Five of them, to be exact, are made of sand that comes from volcanic ash which gives us a beach of black sand.” A picture of The black sand beach makes its way on the screen. From his Father’s collection. 

“Enclosed within a carved face’ is our next clue. There is only one beach along the coast of Iceland that has black sand, as well as something carved out of the face of the cliffs found surrounding it. Reynisfjara is located here, on the southern edge of the island. It is the only black sand beach in Iceland that contains a naturally carved cave in the face of its cliffs.” 

“Here is where we will find our guiding light. The shepherd's journal.” 

Pidge’s phone rings from where it's sitting beside the small bowl on the coffee table. 

“Ah, showtime.” Is all they say before Pidge becomes a blur of motion. Picking up their computer and shoving it into its case. Smoothing out their hair in an attempt to tame its wild curls. It doesn't work but it was a good attempt all the same. 

“Well, this is it. We’re finally moving forward after years of research!” they shout as they head towards the door to grab their shoes. Matt and Shiro follow at a slower pace.

Keith finds himself reaching up for the little red lion for the second time to calm his nerves. 

His father had given him his old camera before his parents had left for their journey to Atlantis. The original expedition. Keith treasured that old camera. He still had it and frequently used it whenever he went on expeditions himself. 

His mother had given him this necklace. She had said that it was found on their last expedition. Where? She wouldn't tell him. She had smiled, kneeled to his height, and said. 

“‘Out Of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.’ Martin Luther King Jr. Said that in his speech during The March on Washington in 1963. Our last expedition gave us our stone of hope, my little red lion. I hope that this gift can be your hope too. We will be home as soon as we can, love.” 

She had kissed his forehead. His father had given him a hug. And they were gone.

Shiro’s parents had taken him in permanently when it was apparent that they weren’t coming back. 

And yet that little red lion remained his stone of hope.

His phone buzzed from his back pocket as he made his way to the front door where the rest of them were waiting on him. 

An email from the museum popped up from his home screen. He quickly tapped it open. 

“Pidge!” he yelled. The anger rapidly invaded his tone. “What the fuck!”

“What?” They said as they poked their head from around the corner. Keith only had to hold up his phone and they were at his side scanning the email with their eyes.

“What the fuck?” Now that was a dangerous tone. If Keith was scary when he was mad, Pidge was deadly. 

“What's going on?” Matt asked, making his way back around the corner closely followed by Shiro. 

“They rescheduled us.” Was all Keith could say before his phone was being snatched out of his hand and Pidge began to read the email out loud. 

“Dear Mr. Kogane and Miss. Holt. It should be Gunderson but at the moment that's the least of my problems. This is to inform you that your meeting today has been moved up from 4:30 pm to 3:30 pm.” 

Matt took a glance at the clock that sat on the wall above the tv.

“But it's already 4?” 

A quick look at Pidge confirmed that they were seething. 

Another ping sounded from the phone that looked like it was about to be crushed in Pidge’s hands. 

Shiro carefully took the device and looked for the notification. 

“It's from the museum,” He said before reading it out loud for them. 

“Dear Mr. Kogane and Miss Holt  
Due to your absence, the board has voted to reject your proposal. Have a nice weekend.  
Mr Daibazaal’s office.” 

“They can’t do this to us!” Pidge shouted. And Keith had to agree with them. 

The two of them were out the door before either of their brothers could stop them. 

“Where are you going?” Shiro shouted, pulling Matt along behind him. 

“To figure out what happened,” Keith yelled at the same time that Pidge said.

“To fight some old people!” 

So, with Shiro’s protests and Matt’s reluctance to follow, Keith and Pidge made their way to the museum to find out why they weren't getting their funding when they hadn’t even made the proposition.

_________________________________________________________________________

The museum was quiet as they made their way through the hallways. Pidges Face turned more and more murderous the closer they got to their destination. Keith was sure that his face looked similar if not more deadly. Shiro and Matt followed silently and stopped just outside the door.

“We’ll - uh, We’ll just wait out here for you guys.” Matt stutters as he and Shiro make their way to the little bench situated outside of the office door. “We’ll be rooting for you!” He says as they sit down. 

Both younger siblings nod in tandem before their furious expressions are fixed on the door in front of them. Pidge’s hand shot out and quickly but firmly knocked on the door three times.  
The door opened to reveal Haggar. Mr. Daibazaal’s secretary. 

She looked them up and down, taking in their angry expressions before her face grew into a smirk.

“Mr. Kogane, Miss. Holt, may I ask if you have an appointment?” 

“No appointment,” came Pidge’s voice. If Keith was honest he would hate to be on the other side of that tone. It could strike down the strongest warriors of the Mongolian era with a single word from Pidge’s mouth. 

There must be something truly wrong with Haggar because the words they said had her smirk widening. 

“Then I don’t understand why you are here?” 

Those words were the final straw for Keith. 

“Where is he?” He asked. 

“He is very busy at the moment. If you would like to speak to him you will have to make an appointment.” She said. 

He kicked the door open he could hear the door slam into the wall behind him but at the moment he could care less. 

Zarkon sat at his desk. A big hulking man. Piercing eyes peered out from behind his glasses as he stared down the two young adults barging into his office, Face betraying no emotion. 

“Can I help you two?” He asked. Hands coming up to clasp together in front of him on the top of his desk. Posture is a way to relax for someone in the wrong. 

Keith could feel his anger boil over and it looked like Pidge was in the same boat.

“What the hell is wrong with you people?” hose were the first words he had spoken since reading those emails and fuck it felt good to finally let some of that anger out and into his words. 

“I don't understand.” Came Zarkon’s reply. Monotone. The only hint that there was any kind of emotion behind those cold eyes was the slight curl of his lips at the corners. 

“He doesn't understand?” Pidge looks at Keith, “He doesn't understand? Like hell, you don’t understand!” They yell out. 

“I am deeply sorry that the board did not approve of your proposition, Miss holt. However, your disappointment is no reason for you to yell at me in my own office.” Zarkon said with a sigh. 

“Gunderson.” Pidge shot back. “It's Gunderson. And what proposition would that be, may I ask? The one we never got to propose because of some bullshit excuse from you and your cronies?” 

“Miss Holt.” The vicious glare that was sent his way did absolutely nothing to stop what was coming out of his mouth. “I suggest that if you want to keep your job you cease speaking to me in that fashion.” 

“I quit.” 

It was silent in the room at Keith's words for s moment as he let the words sink in. He pulled a letter from his back pocket that he had stuck in there before leaving. His plan had been to quit if the museum rejected their proposition. 

He took the three steps forward. The three other sets of eyes followed his movements as she slid the paper across Zarkon’s desk. 

“I quit.” He said again, “Have fun finding a better linguist than me.” And then he turned around and left the office. 

The door shut behind him and he made his way down the hall. Down the stairs to the basement. He could hear shoes following him during his descent and knew that it was Shiro following him. He took in a deep breath and grabbed a hold of his lioness as he pushed open the door of his office. His old office now. He starts taking down the charts and the maps. Collecting the books from the bookshelf in the corner. 

“I sent Matt to go get the truck.” Is all Shiro says before his helping Keith collect all the loose papers strewn across his desk. 

Keith merely nods. Too tired to talk. Hopefully, they can get all his stuff out of here today. He really doesn't ever want to come back to this place. 

“I’m sorry Keith.” Shiro's soft voice. 

Keith takes a deep breath as he watches the sun cross the sky. The little lion glows a little as it hits the light. His little stone of hope. 

“Me too.” 

_________________________________________________________________________

The box was heavy in his hand as he tried to unlock the door as quickly as he could without letting anything that was in it drop to the floor. More specifically the little plant that sat right on top. A Christmas present from Pidge. A cactus.  
“For your prickly attitude,” they said, “And because it's hard to kill a cactus.” was tacked on at the end to poke fun at his inability to keep any kind of plant alive.

“I’m home. Kosmo? Here puppy!” he shouts as soon as the door is swinging open. Usually, at this point his Alusky would already be here at the door waiting for him to get home, but the hallway was dark and empty.  
“Weird,” he said to himself as he let the door close behind him and reached for the light. 

It wouldn’t turn on. He set his box down on the floor as he rubbed his face with the hand that wasn't still holding his keys. 

“Great, just great. Now my lights don't work. Can this day get any better?” 

“Keith Kogane?” Came a woman’s voice from behind him 

“Fucking shit! Who are you? How the fuck did you get in here?” he yelled as he spun around brandishing his keys between his knuckles. An effective weapon when you could get a hit in. 

“My name is Axca… I’m acting on behalf of my employer.” She said stepping forward. A beam of light hit him blinding him for a moment before it moved and he was able to see a tall woman with a purple pixie cut on the top of her head. Dressed in all black, he noted. He still hasn't let go of his keys. 

“Your employer? Who the fuck is your employer?” 

“If you'd follow me, I’m sure I can explain everything to you in the car. As quickly as possible. Kolivan does not like to be kept waiting.” 

“Wait. Kolivan. As in Anthony Kolivan of Mamoran Industries?”

The look he gains from Axca clearly says that she doesn't have time for this but he doesn't care. His keys are still tucked in between his fingers just in case he needs a quick defense. 

When it's obvious that Keith won't be going anywhere until she answers his question, Axca signs. 

“Yes, Anthony Kolivan of Mamora Industries is waiting for you. If that satisfies you we are running late and as I said before he does not like to be kept waiting.” 

She nods towards the door that's currently behind him. As if asking if they could move along. 

He stands from his fighting stance. Not quite relaxed but enough to let her know that he will cooperate with this… whatever this is.  
“You may need a change of clothes.” She says as she heads to the car. “Something you’d wear to the gym. I’ll be waiting here.” 

He shoots her a confused look but heads to his bedroom to grab a loose-fitting black tank top and the first pair of leggings he finds in his closet. 

Once changed he heads back out to the living room. The light is still sparse but enough that he can see Axca nod at him as he walks past her and grabs his coat and running shoes.

He makes his way to the door, opens it and gestures for her to lead the way. She nods in acknowledgement and he locks the door behind them. 

No words are spoken as they make their way to the car. Nor during the entire way towards their destination. 

Ten minutes later, Keith finds himself staring up at the sign for some kind of gym. He’s never been to this one before and to be honest it kinda looks like something that he would actively avoid. 

The dark brick was made even darker due to the lack of outdoor lighting that really should be necessary for a place like this. The sign was half-lit, and the part that was lit was so dull Keith could bare;y make out the words. Something about blades or other things. He didn't know. He didn't ask. He followed Axca through the tinted glass doors. 

If the outside of the building was bad, the inside was the exact opposite. Led lights flooded the hallway. It took a moment for Keith's eyes to adjust to the sudden change in the environment. 

There was a small receptionist desk situated along the right side of the room. No one was behind it but he assumed that was okay as Axca briskly made her way down the hallway to the set of Double doors at the end of it. 

“This way, please. Step lively. Kolivan does not like to be kept waiting.”

Keith shoved his hands in his pockets and followed Axca quickly 

“You will address him as Mr. Kolivan or Sir. You will stand unless asked to be seated. Keep your sentences short and to the point. Are we clear?”

Keith straightened out his back. Drew in a deep breath and nodded. 

His only thought when he stepped through the doors was, 

What the hell did I get into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, you guys. You have no idea how happy I was to find that people actually like what I'm writing????? What??? Anyways thank you so much for your kind comments! 
> 
> At the moment I'm going to try to get a chapter out every week on Sunday. I do have most of the chapters planned out but with m life the way it is I hope that you'll understand if one week I lag behind a little bit. 
> 
> Again thank you so much for reading this I hope you look forward to the rest.


	3. A Gift

“Our lives are measured by the gifts we leave our children”   
~Atlantis: The Lost Empire~

_______________________________________________________

The gym itself is brightly lit, a long line of floor to ceiling mirrors hug the wall to his right. The wall to his left is covered in a collection of different weapons hung with precision and care. 

From his spot by the door, he can see a whole section dedicated to swords of different countries. Curved swords, broadswords, even some cutlasses. There was even a pair of hook swords sitting pretty to the right, closer to the back wall. Keith is itching to get over there and study them but is suddenly brought back to the present when a loud grunt pulls him from his sword induced daze. 

The middle of the room is occupied by two large people with their fists raised, eyes steely, looking for their next opening. The one closer to him has long white hair that he had braided back most likely to keep it out of the way while he and his friend sparred. The other is slightly taller, but not by much, sporting a short, almost purple, crew cut. Keith guessed they were both around the 6 foot 5 marks. Definitely taller than his own 6 foot. 

White hair stepped to the left and he could see the long scar that spanned from just above his right eyebrow to below his lip on the right side of his face. Keith winced. That one must have hurt. 

Another grunt brought his attention to where White Hair was drawing his fist back from the right side of his sparring partner, raising his hands back up to his chin protecting his face. Dark boxing gloves glinting in the light. 

The other man took a quick jab to White Hair’s face followed by a cross which White hair blocked quickly with his lead. 

Judging by their stance Keith guessed that White Hair was a lefty. Not that that really said anything. Keith himself used both stances every once and a while just to mix things up. 

Without warning, White Hair invaded his partner's space going in for a hook or at least that's what it looked like, but Keith saw the subtle shift in his leg as his knee came up to the soft unprotected flesh of his partner’s middle. He backed off quickly only to give a roundhouse kick to the same spot. His partner let out a grunt and went in for a jab but White Hair was too fast and sent another roundhouse. This one just below the ear. His partner went down, and Keith had to say he was impressed. 

He and Shiro did kickboxing, amongst other types of fighting styles; including Krav Maga, Taekwondo, even some sword fighting. However, they were nowhere near the level that these two just displayed. 

With the fight over, White Hair turned to Keith who was still standing by the door probably looking a little lost at what to do. He nodded in his direction before turning and saying something to his partner who was just getting up to his feet. 

The man nodded and headed for the back wall where there was a door. Keith assumed that’s where the locker room was. 

“Keith Akira Kogane.” a deep voice spoke. “It's been a while since I’ve seen you.” 

White Hair was in the process of unwrapping his hands from their bindings as Keith started walking over to where he was standing. He glanced over to the wall of weapons once again before meeting the man’s eyes. 

“Anthony Kolivan. I presume.” He says, stopping about three feet away. 

Kolivan’s face showed no emotion as he zipped open the gym bag that was sitting on the bench in front of him. 

“Can I ask why I'm here?” Keith asked, voice tentative as Kolivan searched his gym bag for something. 

He said nothing as he pulled out a package from the bottom of the bag. 

“Your parents left that with me before they disappeared. I was to give it to you when you were ready.” 

“Ready? Ready for what?” 

Kolivan nodded to the wall that held the swords all lined up. 

“Choose your weapon.” Is all he said. Keith took a moment to study the man in front of him. 

There was nothing in his expression to give away what exactly was going through his mind. So he had two options. Walk out of the building without finding out what this man knew or why he was even here in the first place. Or he could stay and fight in exchange for Kolivan’s information. 

Keith took off his jacket and set off to the wall. 

There was one weapon that had caught his eye. A beautiful bokken. It was purple, something that Keith had never seen. It was expertly made with a hiramine stalk and a hanmaru pommel. 

“Purpleheart,” Kolivan said from behind him when he picked it up. 

“Purpleheart?” Keith asked eyes still tracing the lines of the practice sword.

“It's wood. Naturally purple. Your mother had it made for the blade years before you were born.” 

At the mention of his mother, Keith turned. Kolivan no longer had the package in his hand but instead was in the process of choosing his own bokken from the selection. 

“You knew my mother.” it came out as a statement. Something firm, not a question, but a fact.

Kolivan nodded but said nothing on the matter as he turned and headed back towards the mats in the middle of the room.

“I assume that you haven't warmed up yet?”

Keith shook his head as he carefully set down the bokken, hand sliding over the black leather tsuba wrapped around the handle. 

He slipped off his shoes and socks before doing the quick little warm-up he usually did to wake himself up before his morning run. It would have to do for now. 

He took a deep breath and picked the bokken up again, feeling its weight and shifting his hold so it sat where it needed to be. Then he walked forward. 

What the hell am I doing? He wondered to himself as he stepped onto the mat. Some strange woman breaks into your apartment and you go with her only to end up fighting some random person who's a foot taller than you and could probably beat you in a few seconds. And all because he claimed to know your parents. What is wrong with you Kogane? 

“Ready?” Kolivan asked. 

Keith was definitely not ready but in order to find out what this man knew he had to be. 

His partner’s eyes rake over his form in a really unnerving way, assessing his stance and probably correcting the flaws that he saw.

Keith should probably care what this stranger thought of him. Probably. But he just couldn't seem to make himself. His mind was tracked on one thing. Find out what was in that package and what this man knew about his parents. Okay so maybe two things. Sue him. 

After what seemed like forever Kolivan nodded ever so slightly and got into position as well. Both swords were raised crossing at the tips. Knocked once. Twice. Then both men stood, quickly bowed to one another and then it was right back into position. 

They stood quietly for a few seconds before Keith made his move. 

A small jab. Nothing big and showy, but rough enough to get Kolivan moving. Which he did, but it wasn't what Keith was expecting. They were small movements much like his own. Enough to engage but not enough to win. Keith backed off for a second attempting to look for any kind of opening the older man had left for him. 

His grip shifted slightly on the tsuka, and he saw Kolivan's eyes shift down for a second and then he was moving. 

He had always had the upper hand when it came to sparring with other people. He was fast. Like ridiculously fast. It’s because of this trait that he was usually able to win any match he was put in while growing up. Well almost. He was still a little behind Shiro when they trained together, but it was nothing like this. 

It was like Kolivan had a sixth sense. Usually, when Keith struck at full speed his sword would hit the mark no problem. This time there was something blocking his way. 

He hadn't even seen Kolivan move. How the hell had he managed to defend his left side so quickly? His face gave nothing away, other than a small spark of amusement in his eyes. 

Keith's eyes never left Kolivan as he drew back. He took a deep breath as he focused. Then Kolivan lunged. 

Keith spun away in time for the bokken to make its way through the spot he had just been. He raised his arms intending to strike back but all of a sudden Kolivan wasn't there. He quickly spun to see the older man with his bokken raised and threw his own up to defend himself. It worked. Barely, but he hadn't been hit. 

Maybe he should be learning from this guy. 

He struggled to throw the older man off him. His grip was slipping and he could feel his arms burning with the effort. 

He was stuck. He knew it, he could see it - and even though he couldn't get a proper read on Kolivan- he knew that Kolivan knew it too. So he did the one thing that he could in this situation.

He ducked. Backed up about five feet, panting heavily, bokken down at his side. 

Kolivan was staring at him again. The same calculating look he had when he first looked up at him. Keith didn’t know what he was looking for. But he sure as hell wasn't about to give up.

He tightened his grip on the tsuka. He knew his face was twisted into determination as he lowered back into his stance. Sword out in front of him. 

And then Kolivan charged. 

The heavy hit rang through the room. One would have thought that the wood had broken on both swords with the force that was used. However, both stood up to the men who wielded them. Both pulled back at the same time only for Keith to take his hit which was easily blocked by Kolivan. Both struck again. 

Keith could feel the sweat starting to collect on his skin. The balls of his feet were beginning to grow numb with their use but still, he kept pushing. He kept fighting with everything he had. 

More jabs from Kolivan were blocked by Keith. His eyes narrowed in determination.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other man’s sword descend on a slant towards his face. His own sword was made to block it and with the flick of his wrist, he was able to knock it to the side before ducking around to advance from behind. 

Kolivan made no move to stop him and Keith finally thought he had the upper hand. Then his back hit the ground. The purpleheart lay about three feet from his right hand and Kolivan was leaning over him, sword at his throat. 

As quickly as it was there, it was gone and a large hand had replaced it. 

Kolivan nodded to Keith as he took his hand and got to his feet. The older man turned back to the wall to grab one of the soft rags that hung there, quickly tossing it to Keith once he was finished with it.

Keith wiped down his weapon with care. Neither of them made a move to say anything as they put both swords away and headed towards the door. 

Kolivan grabbed his bag and Keith paused as he caught the picture that hung above the entrance to the training room. 

“Keith.” Kolivan’s voice cut through the air. Keith turned to him as he gestured towards the door.

“You said you knew my parents.” He said. “I’m not going anywhere until you explain to me what the hell you made me fight for and what the fuck you know about my parents.” 

Kolivan raised an eyebrow. 

“Just like your mother.” He said and though the tone was fond his face betrayed no emotion. 

Keith turned back to the photo and he pointed to it before his eyes settled back on Kolivan. 

“How did you know them?” he growled. 

Kolivan was silent for a few seconds. Observing the angry boy in front of him. 

“They were my best friends,” He finally said, “they spoke of you often.” 

“Funny,” Keith said. “They never mentioned you.”

“They wouldn’t have.” Is all Kolivan said before turning back around to head out the door, Keith followed a few steps behind. 

Kolivan led him a little way down the hallway before unlocking a door off the side that Keith assumed was his office. 

Once inside, he gestured to the two chairs situated in front of his desk. Keith stayed standing. 

Kolivan grabbed the package from his bag once more and held it out to Keith, who took it but didn't open it.

“You said it's from my parents?” He asked, trying to get any kind of emotion to flicker across Kolivan’s face. It didn't work, but the older man nodded. 

“Your mom sent that package to me years ago. She said that if anything were to happen to her or Tex I should give it to you when you were ready.” Kolivan’s hand shot out to wave at Keith to continue and open whatever was in the brown paper, but Keith didn’t budge. 

“How did you know them?” He asked again. Kolivan sighed. 

“Your mom and I grew up together. She was always dragging me along on one of her expeditions. Eventually, those adventures included your dad.”

“Why have I never heard about you?”

Kolivan shrugged. 

“They knew that I liked my privacy.” Is the only explanation Kolivan gives.

Keith nodded and looked down at the package in his hands. 

“They wanted you to have that. But they wanted to make sure that you knew what it would mean when it came into your possession.” 

Keith narrowed his eyes at the loopy script on the package. He knew, logically, that it belonged to his mother. He had studied her journals long enough to be able to recognize it anywhere. 

He let out the breath of air that he hadn't known he was holding and tore the paper off. 

Then he froze. 

Inside the package was a book. In the center of the cover was a square spiral that was surrounded by five lions at different points. One at the top two at the sides and two more at the bottom. 

He knew this journal. He had studied ancient carvings about it. He had planned to go on an expedition to find it. 

“The Shepherd's Journal.” He breathed out. 

He could hear Kolivan shifting in his seat but didn’t bother with lifting his head. His fingers traced the lions one by one before he met Kolivan’s eyes. 

“Kolivan, this journal is the key to finding Atlantis!”

“Atlantis!” Kolivan scoffs, “I wasn’t born yesterday.” 

“No, no, no Look at these coordinates. Clues it's all right there. I can't wait to show Pidge they’re gonna flip.” Keith says turning his back to the desk and pacing as he flips carefully through the pages. 

“It looks like gibberish to me,” Kolivan says in disinterest. It's grating at Keith's nerves, but he pushes forwards anyway taking in this gift. 

“That's just because it's written in a dialect that no longer exists.” 

“It's useless”

Keith snaps the book shut at this declaration and wheels around on the older man. His face is as blank as ever watching Keith as he seethes.

“Not useless, just difficult. I’ve spent my whole life studying dead languages. It’s not gibberish to me.” he grits out between his teeth.

‘It’s probably a fake.” And that's when Keith breaks a little bit. He strides forward and slams his hand down on the desk in front of him, carefully clutching the journal to his chest. 

“Kolivan, my mother would have known if this were a fake. I would know. I will stake everything I own, everything that I believe in, on my mother's life even, that this is the genuine Shepherd's Journal.” 

Kolivan nods thoughtfully at this statement not even fazed by the anger radiating from Keith at this very moment. 

“All right, so what are you going to do with it?” He asks, studying Keith.

The question throws him for a loop. 

He’s got it. He’s finally got the Shepherd's Journal in his hands. The next logical step would be to go out and find Atlantis. 

But he can’t. He’s broke as fuck with no job and the only people who support him are in the same boat he is. No job and broke as fuck. 

He refuses to let that stop him though. 

He starts to pace again. 

“Well… I’ll get funding… The museum…” 

“You quit this morning… Do you really think that they’ll listen to you now? In fact, do you really think that they ever listened to you?” Was Kolivan’s response. 

Keith wheels on that question. 

“I’ll make them listen to me!” He’s practically yelling at this point, “I’ll make them believe!”

“Like you did today?” Kolivan asks 

“Yes! No? How did you?” Keith pauses a second before continuing, “Forget it okay? Nevermind! I’ll find Atlantis on my own, I will find my parents on my own even if I have to do it myself, in a rowboat!”

Something weird happens the moment Keith looks up into Kolivan's eyes. Fierce determination running through his veins. Kolivan smiles. 

To be clear it's not really a smile, it's more the corners of his mouth quirk up and his eyes gain a certain light to them. 

“That's what I wanted to hear. But forget the rowboat, I’ve got something else in mind,” he says before he leans down to press a button on the screen in front of him.

Keith takes a second to run over what just happened in his head. A confused noise makes its way up the back of his throat before he can stop it. 

“I… What?” He asks. Kolivan snorts. 

“For years your parents fed me stories about that old book. I didn't buy any of them. So, finally, I got fed up and made a bet with them. If they found the journal, not only would I fund the expedition but I’d kiss Texas full on the mouth. Then they found the stupid thing.”

He turns his computer screen so that Keith can see the picture that makes up his background. He’s still so confused but he can’t help but snort at the picture of the two men rubbing at their mouths while his mother holds the journal up in the background in victory. He can feel the smile on his face even as Kolivan turns the laptop back around to face him and he types something in. 

“Now I know your parents are gone, Keith. They were great people. I know you know that, but I want you to understand just how great they were. They probably didn't tell you what their final expedition was, did they?” Keith shakes his head. His smile is long gone with the thoughts of his parents. 

“You should know that this is the second attempt at an expedition. Your parents organized the first.” 

Kolivan turns the screen once more to show a picture of his parents. They were standing on the upper deck of a ship. Both heads bent reading what Keith could only assume was the same book sitting in his hands right now. 

“If I could just bring back one shred of proof. That would be enough for me.” Kolivan says before exiting out of the photos and going into another folder on his home screen. 

Blueprints light up the screen as Kolivan gets up from his chair and heads to a model submarine on his bookshelf. 

Keith takes a look at the pictures filling the screen before looking at where Kolivan is staring, seemingly lost in his head. 

After a few moments, he speaks up.

“You got a crew?” The question makes Kolivan smirk before he turns around. 

“Of Course.” He says, “Taken care of.”

“You’ll need engineers and… geologists.” Wow, he’s really grasping at straws here. He’s not even sure where all of these comments are pointing towards. But Kolivan takes them in stride picking up a folder from underneath the model and waving it in the air. 

“Got em all. The best of the best.” He says as he slaps the folder down in front of Keith.

“Shay Lapiston. Doctorate in Geology. The best at what she does.” he says pointing down at a young-looking woman with piercing brown eyes and a kind smile. 

“Adam Wright. Demolitions. Found him in Turkey.”

“Turkey? Why was he in Turkey?” Keith asks. Kolivan gives him a look that he can't really read. 

“It's best you don't know.” He replies before shifting the papers. 

“Pidge and Matt Holt. Obviously you know these two well. Always got their nose sticking into trouble. Youngest communications and engineers that I know. The best too.” 

Keith looks through the profiles Skimming through the kitchen staff and making his way to the engineers. 

“Where was it?” he asks once Kolivan has stopped talking. 

“Where was what?” 

“The journal”

Kolivan looks up at him from the papers strewn across his desk. A smirk pulling at his lips.

“Iceland.”

“I knew it!” Keith says under his breath gripping the journal a little closer to his chest. 

“All we need now is an expert on dead languages.” Kolivan says, “So it's decision time. You can build on the foundation that your parents left you or you can go back to your old life.” 

There's so much to think about. Keith can’t get things in his head quite straight. 

“Alright…” He drags out the last syllable as he shuffles through the papers still sitting on the desk.

“Okay. Alright.” He says as he stands up straight and turns to face Kolivan. 

“I have to quit my job.”

Kolivan gives him a look. 

“Right, already done. My apartment, I have to give notice!” He says as he begins pacing again. 

“Taken care of.” He pauses his anxious walking and throws Kolivan a confused look. 

“My clothes?” He asks tentatively. 

“Packed.” Comes the reply.

“My books?” 

“In storage.”

“Kosmo?” 

“I don't see why he can't go with you. Having a canine companion along for the journey might be a good idea.” 

Kolivan moves to make his way towards Keith, hands in his pockets. 

“Your mom sent a note with that journal for me.” He says and Keith stills, “In it, she wrote ‘Our lives are remembered by the gifts we leave our children.’ This journal is a gift, Keith. How are you going to use it?” 

Keith looks at the large hand stretched out towards him. His own hand tracing the spot where his lioness usually sits. 

There are so many things running through his head at the moment, but one thing is at the forefront of his thoughts. 

I need to find my parents.

“Let's do this.” 

______________________________________________________________________

The sun was barely in the sky when Keith stepped out of the car and onto the docks to breathe in the salty air. His backpack is slung across his shoulder and he turns to reach in and grab his duffle. 

“Remind me why I’m here again?” Shiro asks from the trunk where he’s grabbing his bags 

Kosmo hops out from the back and trots up to sit by Keith's feet. Tongue out and eyes bright in contained excitement. 

“It was part of the deal. I needed my brother along for the ride! Couldn’t leave him alone to defend himself. What would happen if you had to cook something?” Keith smirks pushing his sunglasses up his nose. 

Shiro rolls his eyes, 

“Ha ha ha, hilarious.” He says slamming the trunk shut 

The driver that Kolivan sent them this morning pulls out from the curb leaving the two brothers and their dog staring up at the ship that was going to be their new home for the next however many weeks. 

“You ready?” Shiro asks quietly. 

Keith takes in a deep breath and nods before starting out towards the ship. Kosmo followed dutifully behind him. 

The week before had been full of busy days studying both his parents' expedition journals as well as pouring over the new information from the Shepherd’s Journal. 

Keith reached up to touch the lioness that sat around his neck as the two brothers made their way up the gangway. 

Two familiar faces greeted them at the top. 

“Can you believe this?!” Pidge asked with probably the most amount of excitement Keith had ever seen from them this early in the morning. 

“I’ll believe it once I can get enough caffeine for my brain to actually function.” comes Matt’s reply, and Keith notes the coffee mug that sits in his hand. 

Shiro chuckles. 

The four of them turn towards the deck. 

“Does anyone know where we’re supposed to be going?” Shiro asks. 

“Attention. All hands to the launch bay. To whoever took the L from the Motor Pool sign I raise you the P from Dr. Shipton’s medical case. Your move.” Came a voice over the speakers. 

Keith couldn't help but snicker at that, even when Shiro gave his disapproving look. He could still see the mirth in his older brother’s eyes. 

“I guess we know where to go now,” Pidge speaks up. 

The four of them make their way through the sea of people towards the elevator situated in the middle of the upper deck. 

It's happening, Keith thinks, it's finally happening. 

Kosmo, sensing his owner's mounting nerves, sticks his snout to the curled fist down at Keith's hip and Keith remembers to let out the breath of air he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. 

He smiles down at Cosmo and strokes his head as a silent thank you just before the elevator comes to a stop. 

Keith steps off first and immediately is overwhelmed by the number of people crowded on this floor. Everyone is running around with boxes and carts and he doesn't even know what the hell that lady’s carrying and doesn't really want to ask. 

Just like that his panic is back tenfold, but then the wet snout is back at his fist and it grounds him enough that he can let out a shaky breath. 

“Excuse me? We need to report in?” Comes Shiro’s voice and Keith swivels his body towards the familiar form of his brother. 

“Yes, Mr. Shirogane?” An equally familiar voice speaks up. Keith focuses his eyes on the woman standing in front of them. 

“Oh uh, it's you! Acxa right?” Keith asks and Axca nods before the speaker crackles to life once more. 

“Attention all hands to the Launch Bay. Final loading in progress.” 

Axca turns with a follow-me gesture and the five of them follow her brisk pace. Where they’re headed? Keith doesn’t know, but he really hopes that it's in the right direction. 

“You gonna be okay?” He asks Shiro who is looking a little green around the edges. Shiro nods but pauses for a second, most likely to catch his breath. Then, out of nowhere, something is bumping into their backs. 

Keith turns to see a large cart behind them when a head pops out from behind it.

“Hey, junior watch where you’re going!” The guy says, obviously pissed off that he’s been knocked off his course. Keith has to hold himself back from telling this guy off for running into them. 

“Who is that?” Shiro asks as he makes his appearance behind Keith. This seems to make the man with the cart pause, and start choking on whatever he was about to say next. Pidge snorts from where they’re standing. The small group has lost Axca in the crowd by this time and it's probably going to come and bite them in the ass later but Keith can’t seem to make himself care. 

“Oh hey, you're... you're. Um hello! Name’s Adam. Adam Wright. Nice to meet you” Adam says eyes still locked onto Shiro. Keith snorts and that gets him a glare from both men. Matt and Pidge are covering up their soft laughter behind them as Keith rolls his eyes. Kosmo is still waiting patiently at his feet. 

“It's nice to meet you too Adam,” Shiro says and Keith can see the spread of pink that passes across the man's face. He looks down to the floor to hide his smirk and notices a stick of red poking out from underneath the cart that Adam is pushing. 

“Oh hey man you dropped your dynamite.” He says as he bends to pick it up. Adam looks a little surprised as Keith hands it to him but he nods in acknowledgment and turns back to Shiro to probably get him involved in a conversation. But Keith is faster.

“What else did you get in there?” He asks. Adam turns and scowls at him and Shiro rolls his eyes at Pidge’s giggles. 

“Yeah Adam, whatcha got in there?” They call out. 

“What does it matter what he has in his cart guys? Do you really want to know or are you just bugging the poor man now?” Shiro sighs out. 

Keith shrugs. “we’re just curious, Shiro.” Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Adam mouth out Shiro’s nickname with a weird little half-smile that Keith smirks at. 

“You can flirt with him later if you want to.” He says turning back to Adam and asking him again what kinds of things he has in his cart. Ignoring the now red-faced Shiro. 

“Hmm? Oh uh, I got some gunpowder, nitroglycerin, notepads, fuses, wicks, glue, and paper clips. You know the usual office supplies.” Keith laughs a little at that and is about to open his mouth to ask Adam what the paper clips are for when he hears a familiar voice behind him. 

“Keith!”

He turns, making quick goodbyes to Adam and Shiro who are now standing there awkwardly trying to make conversation, while Pidge and Matt attempt to hold in their laughs. Shiro’s gonna yell at him later for leaving him alone with them but he’ll do it with a smile on his face, so Keith doesn’t worry about it too much. He’ll thank him after anyways. 

Kolivan is standing a few feet ahead of him at the ramp leading up to the large submarine hooked up to cables, ready for submersion. There's another man standing right beside him and when Keith walks over Kolivan is quick to introduce. 

“Keith! I want you to meet Commander Daibazaal.” 

“Lotor, Please call me Lotor.” The man quickly corrects. “Mr. Daibazaal makes me feel like my father.” 

“Your father…” Keith trails off. 

“Zarkon Daibazaal.” Lotor all but spits out. “I’m sure you know who I am referring to.” 

Keith just nods and the man eyes him up and down with a calculating gaze, lingering on Kosmo who stands at his side staring back with a mirror look. 

Unlike Kolivan, this man’s gaze has him wanting to reach for the small knife he keeps in his boot for emergencies. He shakes it off. 

If Kolivan trusts this man to take up the position of commander, then so will he. 

“Keith Kogane.” He offers but says nothing more. 

“His father was the one to lead the Iceland team that brought back the journal,” Kolivan says, nodding towards the slender man. 

Keith nods and turns to look at the massive ship hanging above the water. 

“Pretty impressive.” He says turning to Kolivan. “Little big don't you think?” 

“Anything to find what happened to your parents,” Kolivan replies. “ Texas always said you couldn't put a price on the pursuit of knowledge.”

Keith smiles at that. It definitely sounds like something his father would say. 

“And my mother?” He asks. 

There was a twitch at the corner of Kolivan’s lips, the only thing that gave Keith a clue of what the older man was thinking. 

“Krolia would have yelled at me for spending too much money.” 

Keith chuckled. 

“Well believe me when I say that I will find my parents and if I happen to find Atlantis along the way that's just a bonus.” He said as he stepped forward to shake the older man’s hand. 

“It should be enriching for all of us.” Lotor chimed in, flicking his long, nearly white-blond hair over his shoulder. Keith had to pause at that. He didn't really like the tone that came from the platinum blonde’s mouth. But he shook it off and quickly turned to Kolivan. 

“We’ll be back.” Is all he said and Kolivan nodded in return.

“See you then Keith.” 

And with that Keith turned to walk up the ramp, Kosmo following dutifully behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who celebrated Easter hopefully, your Easter was fun! 
> 
> For those who did not, I hope that your weekend was fun either way. 
> 
> If you've made it this far I am so glad that you have and I hope that you continue to read this thing even if it's not that great:)


	4. The Loner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited for the next chapter guys! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this one though. Holly crap it was hard to write. 
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment below on literally whatever you want I will most likely answer it!

_ “Be a loner. That gives you time to wonder, to search for the truth. Have holy curiosity. Make your life worth living.”  _ _   
_ _ ~Albert Einstein~ _

_________________________________________________________________________

_ Day one:  _

_ So it's been a day out at sea and Pidge has already tried to kill someone  _

_ Shiro convinced me to keep a journal documenting the journey like my parents did on their expeditions. He even bought me a new one and I can’t not use it… because it came from Shiro. So here I am _

_ Anyways one of our roommates, James Griffin, caught sight of it and started poking fun at me for keeping a diary.  _

_ Real fucking mature.  _

_ So, of course, Pidge being Pidge, started going at him. Got in his face and everything. Honestly, it was very satisfying to watch him slowly become more and more terrified the longer they went on about how easy it was to make sure that he was never heard from again.  _

_ Usually Shiro would have stepped in before it even got to that point, but he’s nowhere to be found… wonder where he could possibly be? (Hint probably with some short-haired, brown-eyed, glasses-wearing, explosive guy).  _

_ I’ve been spending most of my time going through the shepherd's journal.  _

_ Shiro makes fun of me for being the loner I am. I like to bring up that Einstein thought that being a loner makes life worth living. So take that Shiro.  _

_ Anyway, most of the first sections are all about their culture. Different kinds of food, festivals and stuff like that. And while it's interesting it's not quite what I’m looking for.  _

_ I know that the general location of the lost city is about 26, 500, 000 km off the coast of Florida. Southeast.  _

_ That’s where we’re headed, currently in this massive ship. Seriously, it's huge. I've lost my way about ten times today alone looking for the mess hall.  _

_ Speaking of, you’d think the food out at sea would be gross. Well, you’d be wrong. Honestly the best food I have ever tasted. I have no clue who cooks it but they are my new favorite person. _

_ I’m currently reading about the landscape of the city and its surrounding area.  _

  
_ This passage says ‘ to the north you will find the canyons of the Balmara. This is where our “Hearts” are harvested’  _

_ Now “Hearts” is directly translated. The shepherd could be referring to the power source that Lotor has been keen on finding.  _

_ I’m not going to lie but every time I talk to Lotor I find myself trusting him less and less. _

_ All he wants to know is how much I think the power source would cost. Like I fucking care about how much this source would cost, I have my mind set on finding Atlantis and finding my parents. Everything else is just background noise.  _

_ I’ve been reading through mom’s journals again hoping to find any clues to where they disappeared. So far nothing. Which makes sense I mean they did leave everything behind when they disappeared. I just hope that I can find something, anything to help me find out what happened to them down here.  _

The crackle of the overhead speakers is the only warning he gets before he can hear Nadia Rizavi’s voice break through the silence. 

“Attention! Supper tonight is baked beans. Musical program to follow…. Pidge I swear!”

He snorts. 

It seems that Pidge has already started picking on the other crew. They must already be bored. His pen hits the paper in front of him again. 

_ I still can’t get over the layout of this ship. If I think logically it makes sense but it still gets hard to navigate.  _

_ There are 32 escape pods built into the sides of the ship. These are actually where the bunks are held. According to Kolivan, this makes it easier for when we have to leave the ship to continue our expedition. These pods also hold the trucks that we will be using for our journey. Each truck is packed full of camping supplies, food as well as weapons, and Adam’s explosions. _

“Hey, Keith! I found the training deck that Kolivan was talking about, you wanna come and spar with Adam and me?” Shiro asks from the doorway to the pod they’ve claimed as their own. 

Keith puts his pen down and turns in his brother’s direction. Kosmo perks up from where he’s laying on the floor. 

Normally Keith would jump at the chance to spar with his brother.

“I would,” He says before turning back around to the papers spread out on his bed, “But I really want to finish this first. Feel free to take Kos with you though. He could use a little exercise” 

He can't see it but he knows that the expression on his brother's face is turned down in slight disappointment. His dog is probably sporting the same one. 

“Keith you have to take a break at some point. You've been going at this since we got on this ship nearly 10 hours ago.” 

A sigh escaped his lips before he knew it. 

“I know Shiro but I really, really just want to find my parents.”

“And you can still do that.l I’m not saying stop looking for them, Keith. I’m saying that you should take a break. Come spar with me before dinner?” 

He turns to look at Shiro who’s now staring at him with the saddest puppy dog eyes which is totally unfair because he can't say no to those. A glance at Kosmo confirms that his dog is sporting a similar expression. 

“Fine.” He says with a sigh. 

As quickly as he can he shoves all of his papers back inside their respective folders, closes his journal carefully before putting it back in his backpack and pulling out his workout gear. 

“So what did you do all day?” He asks as he pulls on his sweatpants. 

“Not much. Adam and I went exploring. I got lost a few times and Hunk had to come and save us. Otherwise, it was a fun day.” 

“Adam huh?’ 

“Oh stop it. It's not like that.” 

“Not like what Shiro?” 

“Fuck you. You know exactly what you’re implying. Come on, let's go.” 

_________________________________________________________________________

_ Day 3: _

_ Pidge put fish heads in my bed.  _

  
  


_ It's a great prank and all but why did it have to be my bed?  _

_ Also, I found out who cooks all of our food. It's Hunk! Who knew that man was a genius in the kitchen.  _

_ Anyways, we’re about two days away from the location where Atlantis should be.  _

_ I’ve found another section in the journal dedicated to the landmarks of the city.  _

  
  


_ “To the south are the forests of Olkari where the hunt is performed.” _

_ Now from what I’ve gathered from the paragraph below is that the Hunt is some kind of festival where the oldest child in each family goes and hunts for that year's food. I’m guessing meat? Maybe? In all honesty, it sounds like fun. You get a whole day to run around in a forest gathering food. I really wish I could have witnessed it.  _

_ On a different topic, I really wish that I wasn't roomed with Adam and Shiro. Like yeah, it's obvious that you two enjoy each other's company but do you really have to make me watch you blatantly flirt with each other? Honestly. I’m just glad I can get away from them from time to time.  _

_ _________________________________________________________________________ _

_ Day 4:  _

_ I’ve found another one of those landmarks. I’m not entirely sure that these are just about the different kinds of festivals that the people celebrated.  _

_ “To the west lies the three peaks; Krell, Arus, and Naxzala. These stand guard over the city. We celebrate the festival of fire in their honor.”  _ _   
  
_

_ I found a passage in my dad’s journal that I think has something to do with this.  _

**_Red was found today. Naxzala is protective of its secrets, but we will know in time what is to be done._ **

_ It's not much, I know, but I just wish I could figure it out. At least now I know that Naxzala is some kind of mountain.  _

_ Lotor wants me to do a presentation tomorrow on what I’ve found in the Shepherd’s Journal.  _

_ I really don't want to but they do need to know what to look for.  _

_ Guess I better get started on that. _

_ _________________________________________________________________________ _

_ Day 5:  _

_ We’re nearly at our destination. Any moment now I’m gonna get called down to the bridge and have to speak to the crew about the “Creature” guarding the entrance to Atlantis. I don't actually think that it's a creature but you know… we’ll just have to see.  _

_ There's one more landmark that I found that I thought was interesting.  _

_ ‘To the east lies the sea of Luxia. Here we celebrate the festival of life.’  _

_ I wonder if the directions of the landmarks have anything to do with its disappearance.  _

“Keith Kogane report to the bridge. Keith Kogane to the bridge.” 

The breath that he wasn't aware he was holding escapes his mouth. Kosmo looks up at him from his spot on the floor. 

“It's showtime buddy,” Keith says reaching to scratch his dog behind the ears. 

Kosmo perks up at that and immediately heads for the door to their room as Keith stands and grabs the journals that he needs. 

“You ready Kos?” He asks the dog. That head tilt isn't much of an answer but Keith takes it anyways. 

“Okay, okay, okay here we go,” He whispers before darting out the door of the pod and into the main hull. 

The walk to the bridge is as uneventful as it usually is. No one bothers to stop and talk which he's thankful for. Not that they ever stop and talk. Like ever. He’s usually left alone by most of the people on this ship. 

“Ugh, Carrots. Why is always carrots? I didn't even eat carrots.” Comes a voice from one of the rooms to his right. Then a door is opening right beside him. 

Hunk walks out of the bathroom and by the green color of his face, Keith assumes that today has not been a great day for the engineer. 

“Keith! Hey man.” Hunk says though it comes out a little raspy, “You are heading for the bridge?” 

“Uh yeah… Are you okay?” Keith asks as the other man’s face twists up. 

“Hmmm? Oh, yeah yeah I’ll be fine just a little bit of seasickness nothing to worry about.” 

Keith nods in response and it's quiet for a few very awkward seconds as the two make their way to the bridge. Keith isn't sure that he’s ever spent this much time with Hunk, really with anyone since the start of this trip. The most they ever say to each other is a brief hello or goodnight or something along those lines. Shiro would probably be disappointed to learn that. 

_ What he doesn't know won't hurt him,  _ Keith thinks. 

“Nervous?” Huck asks which takes Keith by surprise. 

“Ah, uh, a little.” He says which is surprisingly honest of him. 

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” and Keith smiles a little at that. How is it just talking to hunk managed to calm him down? Must be some kind of superpower. He knows that Pidge likes to go on and on about how nice Hunk is and that his girlfriend, Shay, is even nicer, though Keith has a hard time thinking that's true after talking to the man himself. 

The pair make another turn and the hallway opens up to the large bridge. 

“Good luck,'' Hunk says as he makes his way over to Shay who’s on the other side of the deck in a deep conversation with Pidge who has a set of headphones sitting by some kind of machine. 

“Sir we’re approaching coordinates.” The helmsman says as he approaches from behind the small group gathered on the bridge. 

“All right, let's have a look around,” Lotor replies. 

“Set course for 2-4-0 on the bow planes,” Comes Axca’s command. The helmsman nods once before pressing a few buttons to his right. There’s a subtle shift as the ship makes its corrections. Hunk looks like he’s gonna be sick again. 

“Welcome to the bridge Kogane!” Lotor says, eyeing the stack of books resting in Keith’s hands. 

“Thanks,” is his only reply before he nods and turns to put the journals down on the small table sitting beside the whiteboard. 

“Alright people, I want you to give your undivided attention to Kogane here,” Lotor says before standing at attention directly behind the helmsman. 

Keith catches Shiro’s eye as he gives him a thumbs up. Adam rolls his eyes at the gesture and Keith can't help but agree with how cringy his brother is. 

Why did he ask for Shiro to come along with him again? 

A wet nose at his clenched fist interrupts his thoughts.  He quickly glances around the room as he gives a short pat to Kosmo’s head before sending the dog to stand beside Shiro. 

He picks up a whiteboard marker and turns to place it against the smooth surface. 

“Alright, the picture I’m about to draw you is a depiction of a creature so frightening that sailors were said to be driven mad by the mere sight of it.” 

It was mediocre at best, but who could blame him when he was using tools that he wasn't used to using. At least it looked close enough to the original copy in the Shepherd's Journal. 

“The Leviathan,” he said as he wrote the words themselves underneath his drawing. 

“The creature guarding the entrance to Atlantis.” 

“With something Like that I’d have white wine I think.” 

Keith turns in time to catch Shiro and sticks an elbow in Adams' side for the comment. 

Not that Keith really cared about being interrupted. In fact, the small joke helped him to relax a little more knowing his audience was at least listening to him. 

“It's actually a mythical creature described in the bible. More specifically the book of Job, ‘ out of his mouth go burning lights, sparks of fire shoot out.’ More likely it's a carving or sculpture rather than dinner.” 

There are a few snickers from the group which he counts as a win. 

“So we find this… Leviathan. Then what?” Lotor asks, “We dig?” 

Keith shakes his head before picking up the marker again. 

“Actually we won’t have to dig,” he says turning and drawing a curved tunnel on the board. 

“According to the journal, the path to Atlantis will take us down a tunnel at the bottom of the ocean and we’ll come up a curve right into an air pocket.” 

A large bubble joins the tunnel. 

“Here we’ll find the remnants of an ancient highway that will lead us to the lost city itself.” 

A few squiggly lines later and it's not the best picture he’s ever drawn but it will work to get his point across. 

“Kind of like a grease trap in your sink!” Pipes up a voice from the group. 

Everyone turns to look at Hunk all with slightly confused looks on their faces. 

“Er, um… Yeah, Hunk. Exactly like a grease trap.” Keith replies. 

‘Commander? You better come look at this sir.” 

Leifsdottir speaks up from beside the scanner screens. 

“Okay, class dismissed. Give me exterior lights.” Lotor says with a wave of his hand. 

The seafloor is immediately flooded with bright LED lights. 

“Keith look.” 

He looks up from where he’s scanning the pathed gateway section of the journal. 

“Oh my god!” he says as he closes the book to make his way towards the large window spanning the front of the ship. 

“There are ships from every era,” Matt says a little awed, and Keith can only nod as his eyes scan over the 18th-century masts searching for one specific ship. 

He knows, logically, that there’s practically no chance that he’ll find the ship that he’s looking for, but he looks anyway. 

Then he feels a hand on his shoulder. 

“Keith,” Shiro says carefully, “Lotor’s asking about the gateway.” 

Keith looks down to his feet to see Kosmo watching him with concerned eyes, his nose pressing against a closed fist. Immediately he relaxes his grip and lets his dog stick his nose to the palm of his hand. 

_ I don't know what I’d do without these two,  _ he thinks.

“Commander? I think you should take a look at this.” Pidge says from her station with the… well, Keith thinks they’re radios, but he’s not entirely sure. 

“Yes Gunderson, what is it?” Lotor asks for a voice much harder than it needed to be. 

“We’re picking up something from the hydrophone,” they continue as if they hadn't heard the annoyance in the commander's tone. 

“You should probably listen to it.” Matt pipes up. 

“Put it on speakers.” 

The bridge is suddenly filled with these awful groaning sounds that have Keith wanting to cover his ears. Kosmo growls slowly at the hackles raised at the sound and Keith instantly knows that whatever is making this sound isn't good. Kosmo rarely ever growls unless there’s danger. 

“What is it?” Shay asks, “ A pod of whales?” 

“Nope bigger,” Pidge answers fingers flying over their keyboard. 

“Sounds metallic,” Axca speaks up before moving over to fiddle with one of the dials on the hydrophone, “ could be an echo off one of the rocks.” 

“I’m sorry, do you want to do our job?” Pidge asks tone bordering on annoyance. 

“By all means be our guest,” Matt says while taking off his headphones and placing them in Axca’s hands. 

“Is it just me or is that getting louder?” Hunk asks with a slight tremble to his voice. 

It's that moment when the sound - whatever it was cuts off and the bridge is left in deadly silence. 

“Well whatever it is, it's gone now,” Adam declares after a few seconds. 

_ No, no this isn't right,  _ Keith thinks,  _ there's no way that it would have disappeared on the spot. Not when it was so close to us.  _

“Helmsman bring us about,” Lotor orders, “Tighten our search pattern and slow us to -” 

Then something hits the ship and nearly sending everyone flying. There's an explosion off somewhere in the bowels of the ship which sends Hunk into action. 

“Out of the way!” he yells as he races for the exit. 

“Holt, I need eyes on that thing,” Lotor shouts. 

“Sir.” 

“Subpod crews to battle stations,” Axca calls out and Adam, Griffin, and Kinkade run out of the room too. 

Keith’s head is spinning when he finds a firm footing again. Kosmo is standing beside him and a quick tap to the head assures his overgrown puppy that he’s okay. He rushes over to where his journals have fallen and quickly picks them up and shove them into his bag. 

“Steady, don't panic,” Lotor says and Keith isn’t quite sure who he’s saying it to but it works all the same. He’s actually quite impressed how calm Lotor can be. 

His journals are safely tucked away when the next hit happens. Keith finds himself sprawled across the large window, face first. The bridge is doused in red light and it takes Keith a second to realize where the light is coming from. 

The large eye staring right at him pressed up against the window. Expands a little bit and Keith can see how the metal surrounding the bright red of the iris reflects the bright LED’s from the ship's exterior lights. 

“Holy shit! It's a machine!” he yells.

“Doesn’t matter what it is,” Lotor says, voice like ice, “I want this lobster on a silver platter. Load the torpedo bays.” 

“Launch sub pods!” Axca yells into the comms as the beast moves away from the window. Keith gets back to his feet and Shiro is instantly by his side. 

“Fire torpedoes!” Lotor commands. 

Then Hunk’s voice comes over the comms. 

“Lotor! We just took a big hit down here and we’re taking on water fast. I don't want to be around here when it hits the boilers.” 

“How much time do we have?” Lotor growls out. 

“Twenty minutes if the bulkhead holds” 

There's another crash and then, “Better make that five.” 

“You heard the man let move, move, move. Gunderson sounds the alarm.” 

Pidge nods once and then their voice is filling the ship. 

“All hands abandon ship. Move it, people!” 

Keith, Shiro, and Kosmo find their way back to their pod just in time to launch. Hunk, Pidge, and Matt follow close behind. 

Shiro slides into the pilot's seat as Keith claims the co-pilots after he straps in Kosmo. He's got The Shepherd’s Journal open just in time for Lotor’s voice to filter through the speakers. 

“Where to Kogane?” he asks. 

“We’re looking for a crevice of some kind.” 

“Like that one?” Shiro asks pointing ahead about fifty meters is an opening on the ocean floor. 

“Exactly like that one,” Keith replies. 

“All crafts make your mark,” Lotor instructs. 

“Roger,” Axca says, “twenty degrees down angle.” 

“Right behind you,” Adam jumps in and out of the corner of his eye, Keith can see some of the tension in Shiro’s shoulders release at the sound of Adam’s voice. 

“Look out!” yells one of the other pilots. There’s a yelp from someone before static fills the line. 

Neither Shiro nor Keith looks back. Instead, they race towards the cliff. 

“Just like a grease trap in a sink…” Hunk repeats to himself over and over again from where he's sitting in between Pidge and Kosmo as they take the dive. 

It's an exhilarating feeling but as soon as it starts they pull up and into a small cavern. 

Keith counts the pods as they appear. 

There are only six. Only six pods out of the thirty-two escape pods that were situated on the ship. Two of the sub pods have made their way to the surface as well. 

“Let's head to shore,” Lotor says after a few minutes of silence. Keith has never heard the man sound so somber.

As soon as they’ve stepped onto dry land Huck takes off. In the distance, Keith can see Shay standing by Rizavi looking a bit shaken up. Once she catches sight of Hunk He can see the relief spill out of her. Immediately Hunk's hands are flying to her face to make sure that she’s okay. Keith turns away to Shiro who’s watching him like a hawk. 

“What?” He asks. 

“You okay little brother?” 

The question comes soft and as soon as it's said Keith lets his shoulders relax and takes a deep breath. 

“As much as I can be.” Is his reply. 

“Takashi!” Adam calls out and Shiro whips his head around just to wave at the other man. 

Keith snorts and Shiro turns to glare at him. 

“What?” 

“Go see him,” Keith says with a smile, “I know you want to.” 

Shiro shakes his head and wraps his arm around Keith’s shoulders. 

“Let's go get the trucks unloaded.” He says.

The unloading process takes a lot longer than it should have. In the end, they’ve managed to retrieve the digger, the truck with the emergency balloon, the medical truck, the food truck, and seven trucks filled with your basic camping needs plus guns. 

Lotor calls everyone over to gather at the edge of the water once everything is situated and ready to roll out.

Shay lights a candle and sends it floating out on the water. It's silent for a minute until Lotor's voice slices through. 

“A week ago we started this expedition with two hundred of the finest men and women I have ever known. We’re all that's left.” He says as he turns to look at the fifty people who remain. 

“I won't sugar coat it. What’s happened is shitty and something that we’ll probably never forget. But we’ve prepared for situations like this and we will be able to overcome these obstacles that manage to set us back. We will continue to push forward. From now on everyone pulls double duty. Everyone drives, everyone works.” 

He turns to Keith then eyes steely as they rake over his form. 

“Looks like all our chances of survival rest with you Kogane. You and that little book.” 

Keith shivers slightly. Just because it’s technically true does not mean that he wanted that pressure pointed out to him. 

He turns to look at his friends looking for their support which he genuinely gets until Pidge speaks up. 

“We’re all gonna die.” They say with a sigh. 

Well, that's reassuring. 


	5. The Fun Part

The Journey is the Fun Part  
~Jamie Tardy~  
_________________________________________________________________________

Keith sighs into the canteen he’s holding to his lips. It's only been three hours of walking through the vast cave system that they’ve found themselves in and he can already feel the tiredness seeping into his bones. 

He tilts his head back to gain the last drop of water from the bottle.

“You didn't just drink that did you?” a voice asks from right in front of him. He glances at Adam as he wipes his face on his arm, before looking back down at the water bottle in confusion. 

“Uhhh yeah?” He replies looking back up at the man before him, “Was I not supposed to?” 

Immediately Adams' face falls and Keith’s stomach follows suit. He doesn't like that look. 

“That's not good. That's nitroglycerin.” Adam says, his voice rising in panic. Keith feels his body freeze up at the implications. 

I mean it tasted like water, He thinks but then he focuses on what Adam is saying.

“Don’t move. Don't breathe. Don't do anything except pray maybe.” Keith nods slowly trying his best not to do anything but stand there and hope for the best. 

“Ahhhhhhhh!” Comes a shout directly in his ear. Keith will never ever admit it but he feels his body tense and jump before he’s spinning around glowering at a very pleased looking Matt. Adam cracks up from behind them. 

“Fuck you Matt that wasn’t funny.”

“I don’t know man. I thought it was very funny.” Matt snickers before walking away, Adam close on his tail. The two of them are still laughing. 

Keith is so close to following them to give them a piece of his mind when he hears Lotor’s voice call out over the group. 

“Let’s move out!” 

He sighs once more before whistling one low note to call Kosmo over from where he’s been exploring the terrain. 

“Come on Kos, let’s go” 

A short bark is all he gets in response before the two of them make their way to the line of trucks ready to roll out.   
_________________________________________________________________________

They’ve been following the group for a full six hours now. The mask is heavy and uncomfortable where it sits on his face but it is deemed necessary for their mission that their faces are not seen. 

So far they haven't been caught. There isn't even the slightest bit of suspicion from the group that they are being followed. He counts that as a win. 

The soldiers with him are getting restless. They aren’t supposed to let the survivors of the leviathan live this long. He knows that. They know that. They know he knows that, but he can't shake the feeling that these ones are different. These ones have a sort of… presence about them that he can't figure out and it’s driving his curiosity through the roof. 

“Your highness?” Plaxum asks, voice hesitant, as she watches him from their vantage point high up on the wall. A small little alcove carved for them once Lance was old enough to take over the royal knights. 

“Yes?” He replies, eyes still trained on the raven-haired one who had been drinking from the strange metal cylinder before the one wearing the glass on his face walked up and said something. Honestly, it looked like the shorter one was about to throw a punch. 

“Sir we were just wondering why you’ve been waiting this long. You know that her majesty will not be thrilled at these new developments.” 

He sighed as he closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly. 

“Let me worry about the queen for now.” He says reopening his eyes to face his companions all sharing the same cautious expression. 

“We will continue as planned. Stay in the shadows for now. We do not know what they want nor what they are here for. Once they become dangerous we will decide what to do from there.” He says turning his head back to watch as the white-haired one shouts orders out to the group and they get ready to move. 

A sound from directly below them has the four of them freezing in place before Lance works up the courage to look over the edge, his bow now in his hand an arrow ready to be let loose. 

The raven-haired man’s animal companion looks up at them through the shadows with a curious expression on his furry face. Lance almost coos at the sight but catches himself in time to hear a short whistle that has the animal standing and walking towards his master, but not without one last look to the shadows where they hide. 

He feels unnervingly exposed with that one glance.

Each of them let out the breaths they had been holding before the rumble of the metal boxes had the four of them standing at attention ready to make their next move. 

They wait. 5 doboshes go by before the last metal box makes its way through the tunnel leaving the small group in near darkness if not for the crystals hanging from their necks. 

“Come,” Lance says strapping his bow back into place with his quiver, “Let’s go.” 

They move as one unit. Following behind the group of upper worlders, never once leaving the shadows. 

Lance catches sight of the raven-haired man and his animal companion a few more times during their day and notices a small book in the man's hands and can't help but wonder what exactly is in it. 

When the group stops to rest for the night, the four soldiers make themselves comfortable in the shadows. Each takes their turn watching the group while the others sleep.   
_________________________________________________________________________

Keith glances down at the shepherd’s journal. Then back up at the two tunnels in front of him. A sigh escapes from someone behind him as he looks back down at the journal in his hands. 

“You’ve been looking at that book for eons now. Which tunnel is it?” Pidge asks annoyance written all over their tone. 

Keith turns to glare at them before turning back to the problem at hand. Not bothering to give a reply. 

It seems that the years have not been kind to the journal in some aspects. Meaning that the entire section he needs in order to find which tunnel is the right tunnel is un-legible. 

The sentence starts out fine.

Two roads diverge from one another. 

And then it’s all smudges. He thinks he can see the word right but he can't be sure if that’s the tunnel to take or if its the left one. He knows, either way, one will lead to doom. 

He knows that the group is getting restless. He is too but he needs to be sure that it’s the right tunnel just in case something happens. 

“This is ridiculous,” Lotor huffs, “Everyone to the left.” He calls out.

“Uh, sir, I really think -” Keith says nose still stuck in the journal. 

‘No, you had your turn Kogane. It’s my ultimate say on which way we go.” 

At this Keith looks up to meet the commander’s hardened stare head-on without flinching. Matching it with one of his own. 

“Your funeral.” Is all he says before calling his dog over to sit on one of the flattened stones. 

Lotor rolls his eyes before climbing back into his truck and pulling out. 

Shiro gives him an odd look as he passes and moves to stand by him. 

“What are you doing?” He asks arms coming to cross in front of him. 

“Watching them crash and burn.” Is his reply when the lead truck finally hits the mouth of the cave to the left. 

There’s a tremor in the ground and a large worm-like thing, with more legs then Keith ever wants to see on a creature ever again, pops out from what he’s determined is the doom part of the sentence. 

There’s a smirk on his face as the rest of the group make a total 180 and head back down the incline. 

The worm satisfied that his home is no longer in peril gives one last intimidating roar as it slinks back into the shadows. 

Keith’s smirk stays plastered on his face as he gets up from his spot and strolls over to the lead truck. Taking his sweet time.

“To the right?” he asks innocently once he’s right beside Lotor. 

All he gets in return is a deadly glare and a nod as the trucks start up once more.   
_________________________________________________________________________

I mean they could have gone with the weblum’s tunnel and found the city just fine. Lance thought to himself but shrugged it off. Whatever, they want to make it harder on themselves, they can go right ahead. 

The four of them crept along in silence making sure they were neither seen nor heard. 

He knew that Plaxum, Bandor, and Klaizap were getting restless the closer they got to the city. The closer they got to Allura’s wrath, but there was just something about that raven-haired man that Lance just couldn’t shake off. 

He was important. Lance knew that much, but it seemed that the man preferred to be alone more than surrounded by others. Always with his nose stuck in that little book he liked to carry around so much. He wasn’t too sure but he prayed to the spirits that these people were able to save his city from ruin. How? He wasn’t sure but he would figure it out as the days went by. Allura would not be pleased that that was the reason that he had not killed them all yet but he could deal with her at a later time. 

Up ahead the group had parted off into a small alcove to the side of the tunnel. Obviously getting ready to settle in for the night with no real idea just how close they were to reaching Atlantis. 

Lance led his followers to the shadowed part of the tunnel close enough to see what the group was doing but far enough away that they wouldn’t be caught. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Lance noticed the raven-haired man and his animal companion setting up one of the canvases that they stayed in during their sleep. Well, the man was though it seems his furry companion was more inclined to get in the way rather than help.

He snickered when he saw the man grab a stick from the ground and toss it down the tunnel. He made a gesture to the animal to get it to chase after the stick itself. Obviously the animal was having none of it and made it rather clear when it took off in the other direction. 

Towards their hideout. 

Shit, is all he can think and he knows Allura would scold his ear off by using an unbecoming word but at the moment he could really care less about what his sister had to say. 

Without warning the animal stopped a few feet away and stared at the four soldiers with their weapons held at defense. 

Its head cocked to the side and Lance felt his head do the same when he noticed the animal's tail wagging. 

In all honestly, this thing reminded him of the yunes that he had once begged his father to purchase for him. The six-legged creatures were known for their friendliness and easy domesticity. The most dangerous part of them was their wagging tails that had coarse hair at the tip and when they got fast enough were known for leaving sizable welts in the skin of anyone who dared come close. 

He smiled a little and held out a hand to the strange creature who began to wag its tail faster as it took a cautious step forward.

“Kosmo!” 

The call made both man and beast freeze in their place. The smooth voice called the name once more and the animal gave a soft whine in protest before ultimately turning with a parting glace to Lance. The call of his master too great to ignore. 

Though he could hear Plaxum’s scolding in his ear as he retreated back into the shadows his mind kept repeating the sound of the man’s voice over and over again calling for the creature. 

Lance wondered what it would sound like calling his name.   
_________________________________________________________________________

“Oh my god look at the size of this!” Shay exclaims, “It's gotta be half a mile high at least!” She's circling the column now. Taking in every aspect of the hardened clay that it's made of and writing it all down in her little book. 

“I know!” Keith adds taking as many pictures as he can of the column with his dad’s old camera. “It must have taken hundreds, no thousands of years to carve this thing!” 

It's then that the two of them feel a hand grab them at their wrists, yanking the two back to a safe distance before the cavern is filled with the sound of explosives going off. 

Keith cringes at the sight of this beautiful masterpiece lying in the middle of the tunnel expanding over the crack in the road. 

“Hey look! I made a bridge.” Adam calls out, his face blown into a smirk, “It only took me what like 10 seconds. 15 tops.” 

“Your bridge,” Keith says, anger growing by the minute, “is over 2000 years old and irreplaceable, you shouldn't have done that.”

“It's what I was ordered to do,” Adam says all traces of snark have gone from his face, instead it's been replaced by annoyance, “I didn't have a choice in the matter. Besides what’s the harm? It's not like it was doing anything anyway.” 

At this point, Keith doesn't care if Shiro likes this guy or not because he’s about ready to throw a punch at his face if he doesn’t shut up. 

“Oookay there,” Hunk cuts in, obviously not happy to be in the middle of this, “I think that we should all calm down. What's done is done Keith, we can't change it now. Besides, you know Lotor. Do you really think that he would have let Adam say no to destroying an ancient artifact?” 

Keith's silence is all that's needed. He lets out a deep breath and turns away back towards the convoy to where his dog is standing patiently staring off into the shadows behind them. 

He’s been doing that a lot lately. The staring. Keith doesn't blame him. It must be boring for Kosmo.

He can hear Shiro and Adam arguing behind him but he doesn't care enough to turn around and have a look. He threads his fingers through Kosmo’s fur as he kneels beside him. A flash of yellow has him looking up into the shadows once more and Kosmo cocks his head to the side as if the movement was expected. Keith looks out into the darkness yet sees nothing. He shakes it off as he hears Lotor yelling again to get up and get moving. 

“Come on buddy, let’s go climb all over an ancient ruin.” 

________________________________________________________________________

He cringed at the sight of the great pillar falling after the large explosion. 

In reality, the pillar meant nothing. An old ruin, long forgotten by his civilization, that no longer mattered to his people. Though he had to applaud the raven-haired man for standing up for something he believed in. 

There had been a few times that day that Kosmo had come up to him to walk with the small group of soldiers and Lance had decided that if he ended up having to kill off the rest of the group there was no way that he could do that to the creature. If anything he would take it home with him and make Kosmo his own. 

There was, however, a pang of underlying guilt that came with this thought. The animal clearly adored his master no matter what lance did. So, while he didn’t want to hurt the animal, if it came down to it he might have to. 

Man, he had really gone soft over the years. 

Up ahead the group pulled to a stop obviously to set up camp for the night. Lance and the others halted and backtracked down into the crevice where they knew some kind of sustenance must be growing. They would really have to rethink how much supplies they would need the next time they had to do this.   
_________________________________________________________________________

It's the fifth day when they hit another roadblock. One not easily destroyed. 

The tunnel has been covered over from some kind of cave in and at this point Keith isn’t too sure how exactly they were meant to get past that. 

“Looks like we hit a little roadblock.” Lotor says, staring up at the cave in front of them, “Adam? What do you think?”

Adam shuffles around in his bag of danger before pulling out a stick of dynamite.

“I could unroadblock us if I had about 200 of these,” He says holding up the red stick, “Problem is I only got about… 10. Plus you know about 5 of my own. A couple of cherry bombs… a road flare.”

His eyes light up for a second before he turns to Keith a smirk planted on his lips, 

“Hey too bad we don't have any nitroglycerin hey Keith?” 

Matt tries to smother his giggles in his hand but is ultimately unsuccessful when he sees Keith shoot him a glare, flipping his middle finger up in response to their teasing. 

Lotor does not look impressed at the sound of that and instead turns to Shay who’s studying the rocks blocking their way, picking up small samples. 

“Looks like we're going to have to dig.” He calls out.

“Awe hell yeah!” Pidge pumps their fist in the air before scrambling past their brother headed straight towards the digger. They’re suddenly stopped by Shiro who grabs a hold of the collar of their t-shirt.

“Not you, Gremlin. A worthy try though. Shay, would you do the honors?” 

Shay chuckles at the grumpy expression now plastered on Pidge’s face before turning towards the digger, her sample secured on her belt. 

“It will be my pleasure,” she calls over her shoulder. 

The digger opens the tunnel up to a large cavern. There's a crevice in the middle of the floor and from what Keith can tell there doesn't seem to be a bottom. A large rock hangs from the ceiling illuminating the entire cave in a sickly green color that captivates the crew before Lotor’s voice cuts through the silence. 

“All right we’ll make camp here tonight,” he says looking up from his watch. 

“Why is it glowing?” Shiro asks, eyes still trained on the glowing orb. 

“I assume it's a natural phosphorescence,” Shay says as she strolls past with her camera trained on the ceiling. “But I won't know for sure until I can get a sample.” 

Hunk looks horrified at the implications that she’s going to somehow get a sample and runs after her. No doubt trying to convince her that the glowing rock fifty feet in the air was the least of their worries. 

“That thing is going to keep me up all night. I know it.” Adam says with a shudder as he passes by, headed towards the small waterfall to the side of the cavern. 

A wave of snickers can be heard from Pidge and Matt. Keith turns, his eyebrow raised in anticipation.

“I thought that was Shiro's job,” Pidge says under their breath, just loud enough for the four of them to hear before the two siblings are back at it trying to smother their laughs. Keith chokes down his own laugh as he turns to his brother who has gone slightly redder then he usually is. 

The two brothers make their way to one of the trucks to gather their camping supplies. One tent, two sleeping bags. They leave their bags with the truck in order to ensure that nothing gets left behind when they leave in the morning. Reluctantly Keith pulls the knife he’s hidden in his boot and puts it with his things. 

Shiro chuckles at the longing look Keith gives to his bags before tugging him along to where Pidge and Matt have started setting up their tent. 

With the tent’s set up, Keith makes his way back to the trucks and grabs his bag of books before settling down in a small alcove by himself to study the last few pages of the journal. 

He’s interrupted by Hunk’s booming voice. 

“Come and get it!” He yells as Shay rings the large bell hanging from the side of the grub truck. 

He ignores the summons in favor of flipping through the pages of his parent’s journals. 

This isn’t the plan. This wasn’t supposed to happen. 

If Tex were here he’d most likely quote some famous person saying that others can’t make me feel inferior if I don’t let them. 

But he’s not and I’m alone. 

I guess this just goes to show that you can’t judge a book by its cover. 

I’m sending this journal to Kolivan in hopes that he will return it to Keith. Hopefully, he will be successful where I was not. 

Whatever you do do not trust blindly. It’s not worth it in the end. 

At the bottom of the page were five letters circled. BOLNH. He was still stuck on those.

A plate of food is shoved under his nose as he's pondering what his mother was trying to get across with those words. He glares up at Shiro who’s still trying to get him to take the plate from his hands.

“Why don't you come sit with us tonight Keith?” he asks, though his face is saying I dare you to say no. 

What can he say, he’s never been afraid of Shiro. 

“No.” He says before taking the plate and setting it down to the side, being sure to not get any food on his books. Kosmo gives him a pity me, look, and wines pleadingly before looking over to where the group has set up around a campfire. 

Shiro is about to open his mouth in protest when Hunk beats him to it. 

“Hey, Keith! Come and sit with us!” He hollers from where he’s sitting with the group. Kosmo perks up at the sound of Hunk's voice and turns his eyes on Keith. 

Oh no no no not the puppy eyes, that's not fair Kos, He thinks but of course he can't say no to his dog and so reluctantly he grabs his plate with his right hand while gripping the Shepherd’s Journal to his chest with his left and makes his way to the others, A very satisfied Shiro trailing behind him. 

“Don’t you ever close that book?” Hunk asks as Keith sits down and immediately dives back into the journal. 

“You must have read it at least a dozen times by now.” Shay pipes up before shoveling another scoop of food into her mouth. 

“I know but this doesn’t make any sense.” Keith groans, “See in this passage here, the Shepherd seems to be leading up to something. He calls it the soul of Atlantis. It could be the power source some legends refer to.” he pauses to scoop up some food.

“So what's the problem?” Pidge asks. 

“It just… cuts off.” He says, “It's almost like there's a missing page.” 

“Keith relax. We don’t get paid overtime.” Shiro’s dad voice does absolutely nothing to get Keith to relax. In fact, it does the exact opposite. 

“Not everything is about the money Shiro,” He bites out, “Some things are more important.” 

Shiro flinches at the tone in his voice and immediately Keith regrets what came out of his mouth.

“I’m sorry.” He sighs. “Little stressed.” 

“I know,” Shiro smiles, “it's okay… But hey you know what this is really about right? I mean discovery, teamwork, adventure. Finding your parents.” 

“Hell yeah!” Pidge pipes up from where they’re draped across Kosmo’s back who’s trying not to show that he’s begging at Hunk’s feet. Ultimately failing, but at least he tries. 

It goes quiet after Pidge’s declaration until Shiro hesitantly brings it back up.

“Unless maybe, you're all in it for the money?”

Adam nods slightly before wincing as Shiro’s face falls slightly, “I mean yeah, no offense but I’m definitely in it for the money.”

Before long the entire group is agreeing with Adams’s statement and Keith takes a little bit of joy from watching Shiro slowly die a little inside at each affirmation. 

“Well, I guess I set myself up for that one.” His brother chuckles before digging back into his food. 

Keith snickers along before opening his mom’s journal once more scanning over the pages for anything he’s missed. 

“That was your mom’s right?” Shay asks quietly from across the fire. 

Keith doesn’t look up as he nods. The group is silent for a moment and Keith can tell that there’s another question waiting to be asked. So he waits, preparing himself. 

“What were your parents like?” Shay asks again even more quietly than before almost like she wasn't sure that she should be asking the question at all.

Keith smiles a little at that as he looks up and sees everyone’s eyes trained on him. 

“I honestly don't remember much about them. I was really young when they left for their expedition,” He starts closing the book before setting it by his feet. The plate of half-eaten food joins it on the ground and Kosmo makes a beeline towards it, but Keith doesn’t bother reprimanding him for his begging tonight. 

“What I do remember is that they were passionate about what they did,” He chuckles as a memory surfaces from the depths of his mind. 

“I remember, oh I don’t know, it was like a week before they left. My mom came into my room saying that the three of us were going to go on an adventure. I was all excited because what 6-year-old didn’t want to go on an adventure with his parents? Anyways we found a creek by an old trail that ran through the bush behind our property and I remember digging around in the muck for a little bit before finding a genuine arrowhead in the mud. Oh man, you would have thought that I had found the city of gold the way my parents went on and on about it.” 

“About a compressed piece of rock?” Pidge asked. Keith glares at them and they put their hands up in mock surrender, gesturing to him to continue with his story. 

“Anyways, mom was the one to show me the importance of the little things in life no matter how small they were, they had the power to change your course.”

His hand went up to clutch at the lioness around his neck and he brought it forward. 

“They gave this to me before they left me with Shiro’s family.” He says running his fingers over the smooth crystal. “Mom said it was to keep me safe. I know its bullshit but I like to think that it’s helped me through the years.” 

Shay smiles a little, “Thank you for telling us, Keith.” 

Keith cant help the little smile that makes its way onto his face. 

“How touching.” A voice says from behind but there's a sarcastic lilt to their tone. Keith turns to look at Lotor. 

“Can we help you?” He asks not bothering to hide his annoyance at the presence of the commander. 

“Lights out in fifteen minutes.” Is all he says before turning his back and heading towards the other clusters of tents lining the cavern walls. 

“I think that’s his way of telling us to head to bed,” Shiro says as the rest of their small group gets up and scrapes their plates off into the fire. 

It's not long before Keith is pulling on his sweatpants and crawling into bed after putting his books back into the truck safely stored away for tomorrow's journey. Teeth are brushed and Kosmo has his place guarding the trucks. 

He takes a double-take when Adam walks past their tent in a short navy blue housecoat that looks like it could be a size too small. 

“Forget your jammies, Adam?” Keith asks, a smirk on his lips as he studies Shiro’s very red face as his brother attempts to avoid looking in the other man’s general direction. 

He doesn’t have to look at Adam's face to know that he has a smirk plastered there too. 

“I sleep in the nude.” He says almost as if they were talking about something normal… like the weather. 

Keith didn’t even know that it was possible for Shiro to turn even redder, but here they are. 

A scrap of fabric hits his brother square in the nose and Shiro looks down in surprise to find a pair of blinders. 

“You're gonna want a pair of these.” Hunk chuckles, “he sleepwalks.”

“I don’t think Shiro will mind that view,” Keith says, reaching over to pluck the blinders from his brother's hands. “I'll just take these.” 

He looks up just in time to see Shiro’s face turn an alarming color, almost purple before he hides it in the crook of his elbow. 

“I hate you all.” Is all he says before Keith is bursting out in laughter. 

One by one the lanterns go out around camp and they’re left in darkness. 

“Hey, Keith?” Shiro whispers. And there’s a second of silence before Keith rolls over to face his brother. 

“Yeah?” 

“We’re gonna find them.” It’s all the offers and though Keith can't see through the darkness he can definitely hear the smile in his brother’s voice. 

“Thanks Shiro.” He says before he drifts off to sleep.   
_________________________________________________________________________

It’s quiet. The fireflies are the only thing in this cave that allows the small group to see where they’re going. 

Lance climbs over the side of the cave that they’ve been hiding in since following the survivors here. 

He feels an arm at his elbow and looks back to see Bandor’s nervous face. 

“Be careful,” Is all he says before letting go and taking a step back. Lance nods his head in acknowledgment then quickly vaults over the boulder in front of him. Mask securely in place. 

He makes his way silently to the transportation that the survivors brought with them. As quickly and as quietly as he can he rifles through the first metal box that he sees. 

There’s nothing much in the first one. A few items that might be some kind of food judging by their smells but he isn’t about to taste test just in case. 

The second metal box is filled with different types of weapons. They’re of no use to him but he is sure to keep in mind what they have brought just in case. 

The third metal box he comes across he finds the raven-haired man’s bags. In one of them, he finds a small knife and he has to do a double-take because for some reason this knife is made of luxite, a metal found only in Atlantis as far as he knows. He carefully puts the weapon down before rifling through the bag once more. 

This time he pulls out a small journal. It’s not the one that he usually sees in the man’s hands but it’s still something. A piece of paper slides out from between the pages and he bends down to get a closer look. 

Its a still image of some sort. Like a drawing but much more realistic. Kind of like one of the paintings that hang in the hallways of the castle. But this one seems like it wasn’t made with paint. It’s small and very detailed. 

There are three figures on the piece of paper. One a small child, one a woman with long black hair and one a man smiling down at the other two. The child is wearing some kind of hat that seems to be way too big for his head. Though he doesn't seem to mind. 

He feels a wet snout pressed to his back and immediately turns to run his fingers through Kosmos’ fur. 

There’s a sound from behind him and he whirls around to see that the raven-haired man has woken up. He’s got some strange roll in one of his hands and in the other he holds some kind of torch that burns brightly but from what Lance can see, he has no fire source. He ducks behind the metal box careful to put the bag he had been going through back down where he found it. Kosmo is still watching him with that curious gaze of his. But it makes no move towards him so he lets it be. 

He watches as the raven-haired man makes his way a few feet from where all the canvases are set up. As quickly as he can he darts around the metal box and heads back to where the rest of his team is situated but pauses long enough to realize that the man is now holding the torch in a very unnerving way that lights up his face. He will admit that this man is very attractive even if his hair leaves something to be desired. 

He can see the torch slipping and immediately can feel a sense of dread build in his gut.   
Please don't light up the Fireflies, he thinks as he leaps back over the boulder and down into the cave where his companions are hiding out. 

“We have to get out of here,” he says and the other three pull their masks down before scampering down the crevice in hopes of escaping before the fireflies make their mark. 

They’ve just made it to the bottom when he hears the shouts start up.  
_________________________________________________________________________

“Ahh oh, FIRE FIRE FIRE!” Is the very first thing that Shiro hears in the morning. A quick glance down at his watch shows that it is, in fact, way too early to get up to the sound of his brother’s panicked yelling. 

“I’m gonna kill him.” He groans makes his way out of the tent, rubbing at his eyes.

“Keith Go back to bed…”

It’s then that he notices that the campsite is brighter then it should be. There is, in fact, fire everywhere around them and he starts to panic a little as the flames get higher and higher.

A bucket is shoved in his hand which knocks him out of whatever state he was in. He glances up to meet Adams’s face.

“Get some water on that fire!” He yells before moving with his own bucket towards the worst of the fires. His clothes rumpled and hastily thrown together. 

“No time! Get us into those caves! Move it, move it, move it!” Lotor shouts and once again he’s looking around for Keith. Matt grabs his hand and pulls him towards the trucks. He’s unceremoniously shoved into the back along with Pidge, Hunk, and Shay. The bucket is long forgotten on the cave floor. Kosmo looks up at him before joining them making small whining noises. 

“Where’s Keith?” he asks glancing around growing increasingly more agitated the longer he goes without seeing his brother. 

“Move out!” Lotor screeches. 

“Where’s Keith!?” He shouts and looks out the back of their truck to see his brother scrambling to catch up to the moving vehicles. 

Shiro stretches out his hand as far as it will go as they make their way to the bridge over the crack in the floor. 

“Keith jump right now!” 

There’s a sound up ahead of them and everyone freezes for a moment as Keith jumps.

Then he’s gone. So is the bridge. 

They fall for what seems like forever but could also be a couple of seconds until the wheels on the truck hit an incline and then they’re rolling down. Shiro can’t even tell how far they’ve fallen when they stop. There are muscles he didn’t even know he had that are sore from the bumpy ride. 

“Alright who’s not dead? Sound off.” Lotor calls out into the darkness. Multiple groans sound from all around him and that seems to satisfy Lotor. 

“Hunk damage report,” he calls and immediately Shiro is blinded by the flashlight that Hunk has somehow found. 

“Oof, sorry Shiro,” He apologies before scrambling to exit the truck that has somehow managed to land on all four of its wheels. 

“Not as bad as it could have been,” Hunk calls out after sweeping around the site, “We totaled rigs two and seven but the digger looks like it’ll still run. Lucky for us we landed in something soft.”

Shay scoops some of the dirt from the ground up into her hands before sniffing it and letting it run through her fingers. 

“Pumice ash,” she says, “We’re at the base of a dormant volcano.”

Axca pulls out a flare gun from her holster before firing it up. The entire chamber is lit briefly with a red light as the flare makes it way up. 

“It just keeps going,” Pidge says light glinting off of their glasses. 

“Maybe it's our ticket out of here?” Hunk suggests. 

It’s then that the flare hits the top of the volcano. Obviously sealed off from the upper world. 

“Maybe not,” Matt says. 

“The magma has solidified in the bowels of the volcano, effectively blocking the exit,” Shay comments eyes locked onto the top of the volcano. 

“I got the same problem with sauerkraut.” Matt chimes and the whole team looks at him all with varying expressions of disgust. 

“Hold on. Back up. Is this an active volcano? Are you saying that this whole volcano can blow at any time?” Pidge asks turning to Shay who nods pondering the question for a second. 

“I mean, its a possibility, but that would take a huge explosive force.”

Everyone turns to see Adam tinkering with some weird contraption that Shiro knows for a fact came from his cart of explosives. 

Adam looks up in time to see everyone’s unimpressed faces staring at him and the object in his hand.

“Maybe I should do this later, huh?” He says glancing back down the thing. 

“If we could blow the top off that thing, we’d have a straight shot to the surface,” Lotor says before turning to face the rest of the group, “Kogane, what do you think?” 

Shiro feels his chest constrict at the reminder of his brother not making it to the truck. Surely he made it down with the rest of them? He had to. Kosmo paces and whines, gently calling for his master. 

“Kogane?” Lotor calls again and it echos across the cavern.

“Keith!” Shiro shouts. 

The only answer is his own voice bouncing back.   
_________________________________________________________________________

It's dark when he opens his eyes.

He can feel the dampness seep into his sweatpants but he can't make himself move from his spot. Nor should he really, judging by the large tear in his pants where he can see his leg swelling up. 

Please don't be broken. Please don’t be broken. He chants in his head as he attempts to move his leg. 

“Augghh” 

Definitely broken. 

“Well that fucking hurt,” he says to himself as he tries to catch his breath. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see movement. 

He raises his hand to rub at his eyes hoping that he’s just seeing things. Cursing himself for leaving his knife in the truck with the rest of his stuff. 

He blinks once more and all of a sudden there are four masked faces peering down at him in the low light. 

Two of them have spears. Unfortunately for him, those spears are pointed directly at him. 

As quickly as he can with his leg, as it is, he scrambles backward until he can feel the jagged edges of the cave wall at his back. He winces but tries hard to not let his pain show on his face as his hands fly out in every direction looking for anything that could act as a weapon. 

He finds nothing. 

The four masks are whispering amongst themselves, and Keith has no idea what they’re saying. He doesn’t really have the brainpower to figure it out. 

The person standing in front of the group with the bow catches his wince, lowers their weapon slowly, and takes a few steps forward. This brings all of Keith’s attention to them. 

That barely covers anything, is the first thing that goes through his head at the sight of this person standing before him. 

They’ve got a small piece of cloth draped across their chest that winds down his lower half almost like a skirt. The purple-blue of the fabric contrasts nicely with the caramel tone of their skin. 

Those are really nice legs, is his second thought closely followed by his third, what the fuck? 

The man before him snaps to gain his attention. One hand on his hip with his full weight supported by his right leg. He says something. What he says Keith doesn't know. He can hardly pay attention to his surroundings with his leg the way it is. Not to mention his head. He’s 98% sure that he's got a concussion which isn’t good. 

His head’s starting to go all woozy and he lifts one of his hands to where the throbbing pain in his temple persists. 

He thinks he sees pretty legs straighten up and move but to be honest he’s not entirely sure. 

There’s suddenly a pair of hands on either side of his head. Soft palms sit on his cheeks and long fingers stretch over his ears and thread through his hair, Thumbs are pressed to his temple. 

There’s a slight glow to the air, a little bluer than before. 

He wants to fight. He has no idea what these people are doing to him, but he finds all of his energy drained. He knows logically that this is probably the time to start panicking, but his eyes slip closed and he relaxes in this strange person's grip letting him do whatever he wants. 

then it's over and those hands leave his face. 

He opens his eyes. 

Holy shit those eyes are really blue, he thinks. 

Then he’s scrambling, panting heavily as he tries to figure out what happened. 

His hands go to his face first. There’s blood caking his hair, he can feel it on the back of his neck but for some reason, he can’t find its source. He tilts his head down to look at his broken leg. Or, well, what was his broken leg. 

The pain is completely gone now., the fabric is still torn and his blood is still wet and sticky where it soaked through. The skin, however, is back to its normal shape and size. He reaches his hand out to touch. It doesn't feel broken. No pain whatsoever as he moves it around. 

He looks back up to the man kneeling before him. A small pendant is wrapped around his neck but before Keith gets a good look at it the person snaps for his attention. 

They're looking at him like he’s a wild animal ready to bolt. Well not quite at him more like at what’s around his neck. 

“Who are you?” He asks quietly. 

The man before him jolts and replies in another language though Keith can't quite catch onto what he says. 

He’s about to open his mouth in reply when he hears trucks starting up. 

“Keith!” comes Shiro's voice and just like that the quiet moment is disturbed. 

The man’s face twists into a scowl and he picks up his mask from where it's sitting on the ground by their feet. In a blink of an eye, the four of them are racing off down the cave. 

Keith sits there for a moment processing what just happened. 

He makes up his mind. 

“Wait! Wait!” He calls after them. 

“Who are you? Where are you going?” 

Why are they so god damn fast? He thinks as he vaults over a boulder in his way. He can hear the trucks behinds him gaining on the small group but he pays them no mind as he makes his way through the tunnel. 

“Hey wait a minute!” He calls again but, like the other times, it does nothing. He growls in annoyance at the retreating backs of the people who saved him. 

There’s a light ahead of him and he pushes through until he’s blinded by it having traveled so long through a dark tunnel. 

It isn’t until his eyes finally adjust that he can finally get a grip on what’s happening. 

“Holy shit!” is all he can really say when he sees what lay before him. 

The opening of the cave leads out onto a cliffside overrun by fauna. Dark pink flowers intertwine with green vines leading up the side showing a pathway that leads down into the forest below. Peaking over the foliage, Keith can see three large towers reaching for the sky. A sky that’s not there. Instead, there’s a bluish haze made to look like some kind of artificial atmosphere. There’s no sun or any kind of natural light but there is a yellow glow coming from the direction of the towers. 

Behind him, he can hear the digger making its way up through the tunnel towards his location but he doesn’t make a move to get out of the way. The grinding comes to a halt just behind him and he can hear footsteps but stands still taking in the view. 

“It’s beautiful,” Shiro says from beside him. He’s not sure when his brother made his way to his side but he doesn’t really care at the moment. 

“Keith I gotta hand it to you. You really came through.” Adam says laying a hand on his shoulder. He quickly shrugs it off not caring if he offends the man. 

All of a sudden there’s a noise from directly behind them. The entire crew turns to face the four masked people who Keith saw in the cave. 

“And I take it back,” Adam says and Keith turns to see the man with his hands raised in surrender. 

“Shit! Who are these guys?” Lotor asks hand already pointing his gun at the one in front who has his bow loaded and ready to let the arrow fly. Keith has no doubt that it will hit its target before anyone can blink. 

“They’re Atlanteans.” he breathes out, staring in awe at how beautiful they look now that he can actually see them properly in the light. 

“What? That's impossible!” Pidge says shooting him an incredulous look. 

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” The Atlantean in front asks bow still drawn and though Keith can’t see his face he is absolutely sure that it is pulled in a determined expression. He pauses for a moment unsure of his speaking abilities. 

Shiro nudges him in the side. 

“I think he’s talking to you.” He stage whispers and Keith turns to glare at him but the man is already speaking again. 

“I asked who you are and what you are doing here. I will not ask another time.” 

“Okay, okay,” Keith says taking a step forward but freezing once the arrow is directed towards him. Kosmo whines and Keith can see the man falter slightly at the sound. Interesting. 

“We... are from... the... surface?” It’s not supposed to come put like a question but Keith is definitely not confident in his speaking enough to think he won’t make mistakes. Which makes sense because the had no teacher to practice with. 

The man freezes on the spot as soon as the first word comes out of his mouth. When he’s done the patchworked sentence the man slowly lowers the bow in his hands letting the string go lax. The arrow is put back into the quiver on his back as he begins to speak again. 

“I can see that.” He says slowly, he strings the bow on his back and reaches for the mask. 

Suddenly Keith can’t breathe. He couldn’t see very well in the low light of the cave but now that they’re out in the open he can’t help but stare. 

The man’s hair is pure white. Not like Lotor’s obvious solon job. It’s pure white and the sides are shaved down but the top left long enough to sweep across his forehead in gentle waves. But it’s the eyes that really get to Keith. The brightest blue he has ever seen that beautifully contrasts with his dark skin. Eyes that are currently examining him with curiosity. 

“How do you know my language?” 

It takes Keith a moment to process the question and another to bring his eyes back up from where they’ve drifted towards the man’s legs. 

“I’ve spent years studying and practicing the language just to be able to find you...” A snort from the long-haired woman with the two ponytails, standing to the side with the spear is all that it takes for him to realize exactly what he said.

“IT! Find it!” The man raises his eyebrow at Keith’s stuttering which has Keith’s mouth running off without his permission.

“NO!” He shouts he knows that his red face is gaining looks from his crew but he focuses all his attention on the man in front of him who is growing more and more amused by the second. 

“I mean find Atlantis.” he finally gets out though by now a cocky smirk has taken over blue eye’s face.

“Oh?” The young man asks sauntering forwards staring Keith right in the eye. It isn’t until the two are practically nose to nose that the man speaks again. 

“What will you do now that you’ve found me?” 

Keith’s groan joins the other Atlanteans at the comment and he doesn’t dare look at Shiro who he knows will be giving him a very confused yet very smug look. 

“For fuck’s sake.” He says under his breath making the man’s smirk widen as he takes a step back out of Keith’s personal space. 

“I’ve noticed your language is based on a root dialect. It’s very similar to languages on the surface. Is it possible that you can speak other languages or just the one.” 

Keiths not sure how it’s possible but the man’s smirk grows even wider than before. 

“Oui ange.” 

Well, he might as well be a bonfire with the way his face felt after that comment. 

Turning back to Lotor decidedly avoiding his friends’ amused gazes he does his best to explain.

“Their language is based on a root dialect they must have taught themselves how to speak in other languages.” 

He can hear his friends start to giggle and he hopes that his face has gone down in color enough to face them again. 

“Well maybe English is in there somewhere,” Lotor says under his breath before looking up to the man who’s now got his arms crossed with an amused smile plastered on his face.

“We are explorers from the surface world. We come in peace.” Lotor says extra slow like he’s speaking to a child. 

The man rolls his eyes before gesturing in the direction of the towers behind them.   
“Welcome to the city of Atlantis!” He says and nothing could prepare Keith for what came next. 

The man darts forward and encircles Keith’s wrist with his hand before tugging him along.   
“Come you must meet my sister!” He says his voice raising slightly in excitement. 

Keith could feel a smile spread across his lips as one thought ran through his mind. 

What have I gotten myself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER 5 YOU GUYS! 
> 
> I had so much fun writing this chapter and I hope you guys had just as much fun reading it! 
> 
> Next chapter up next week!!!! 
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments below!


	6. A Learning Experience

Chapter 6: A learning experience

“ _Oh yes, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it or learn from it.”_

_~Rafiki (The Lion King)~_

~~~

For the most part the journey into the city it's quiet. At least in this truck. Adam’s found his way behind the wheel and Keith is sitting in the back, under direct orders from Shiro who gladly stole the passenger seat up front.

“Just in case.” he says, “we don’t know what kind of injuries you could have gotten in that fall.”

Keith stays silent because he knows exactly what kinds of injuries he got in that fall and he’d rather not worry Shiro by telling him about it. Especially when he’s not entirely sure what happened to those said injuries.

Kosmo ditched them some time ago and is currently nowhere to be found though Keith can't really blame him. If he had it his way he wouldn't be sitting in the truck listening to these two flirts either.

He peeks through the canvas truck cover to watch the trees roll past. Average trees. Ones that you would probably see in any regular old forest up above, nothing too special. So far he hasn't seen any signs of wildlife and he’s not entirely sure if he’s disappointed or relieved. Though he would have loved to see a yowler up close (Small creatures with fuzzy tails and mischievous minds, sort of like a lemur he thinks), but would rather not get up close and personal with a bhirgan (A boar-like animal with long tusks, about the size of a fully grown hippo with razor-sharp teeth and beady black eyes). He shudders at the image that brings to mind and lets the flap fall. A sharp bark sounds from the other side of the truck snd he struggles to stand and open up the other side to get a glimpse of his dog. There's nothing but more trees once he makes it and a huff of breath escapes his lips as he lets the flap fall. He scrambles to the front through the opening, ignoring Shiro’s protests in favor of finding out what his dog is up to.

Its... not what he expected.

Up ahead in a small clearing, the blue-eyed man throws his head back and lets out a bright laugh as he waves a stick around for Kosmo who seems eager at the prospect of playing fetch. Something that he doesn't do often, and never with a complete stranger.

He hasn’t realized just how long he’s staring at the two until Shiro speaks up.

“Kosmo sure likes him.” Is all he says. Keith keeps his eyes on the pair and misses the look shared between the two other men in the cab.

Keith gives a low hum in reply. His eyes are still trained on the pair up ahead as they lead the rest to the city.

“Keith seemed to like him too.”

Both brothers snap their heads to look at the driver and Keith can feel his face becoming an alarming shade of red at the implications of Adam’s statement, not noticing Shiro’s exaggerated arm movements behind him trying his best to steer adam away from the topic at hand.

Adam’s smirk widens under the brother’s gazes and he shrugs.

“Just making an observation.”

Shiro shakes his head in exasperation before turning back around to watch out the front of the truck. Keith fixes his gaze firmly to the cover of the shepherd's journal now sitting in his lap.

He doesn't look at anyone as they continue their trek through the foliage. It isn't until he hears Shiro’s gasp that he lifts his head from re-reading facts on the different kinds of tattoos that the Atlantean people use to represent their journeys through life.

The sight before him has a sharp breath of air entering his mouth.

The city is smaller than he thought it would be. Honestly no bigger than where he grew up.

The road they’re driving on isn’t really a road. Old cobblestone most likely laid out thousands of years ago judging by the wear in them. There's a section of clearing between the forest and the city itself which judging by the lone huts surrounded by fields and fences most likely intended for livestock, Keith guessed that this was where the Atlantians grew the food that they needed.

He couldn't help but notice the condition that this section was in. There were a few different farms from what he could see that were still fully functional but the majority of them were so run down that he almost didn't recognize what they were.

“ _Mama! Mama! He’s back!”_ The small voice cut through Keiths wandering thoughts and he found himself focusing on where it had come from.

Up in front a little to the left sat a house. Or at least what Keith thought was a house. The columns of rock that held up the roof were in such bad condition that he was terrified that it would fall the moment someone breathed on it. He watched as three young children all dressed in matching clothes ran from the house and up to the blue-eyed man.

Keith saw his face light up at the sight of these three but hurridly stoped them in their tracks by holding up a hand.

“ _hello ‘frelines’, I'm sorry but I cannot play today. You must stay back for a little bit while I take our guests to the palace.”_ The man said and from where he was sitting Keith could see all three faces fall in disappointment but they did as they were told and headed back up to where their mother was waiting for them.

They passed a lot of farms like that one. Where the house was barely standing, gardens were overrun with weeds and fences rotting where they stood. livestock nowhere to be seen.

The scenery didn't get much better once the farmland changed into city landscape.

Keith assumed that they were headed for the castle that sat at the peak of the hill that they were steadily climbing. Making their way through the winding streets. The houses here were not much better than the ones that he had seen in the countryside.

Stone crumbling and the fabric covering the openings in the sides were threadbare and tearing, half-heartedly patched with old cloth. No longer the vibrant colors Keith was certain that they had been at one point in their existence.

The streets were lit a soft yellow that came from the lamp like structures that lined both sides one leading to each house. From his spot, he could see the curious stares that they received from the residents but they never went farther than staring. Young children hid behind mothers and fathers alike. Peeking out from the folds of their clothes in a hesitant curiosity.

The closer they got to the castle the more restless energy coursed through Keith’s body. Kosmo still leads the way proudly walking beside the blue-eyed man and Keith was definitely not annoyed in the slightest about his dog liking a complete stranger over him. No, not at all.

His hands begin to fiddle with the edges of the journal nearly forgotten in his lap and he has to force himself to tuck it back into his bag before he accidentally destroys it.

It feels like hours as they roll past houses and shops and gardens that look like they've been overrun by nature, but Keith knows that in reality it's only been a few minutes as they pull up to the castle steps.

Its constructed the same as the houses that he’s seen with the exception of multiple floors reaching up. However it has a much more elegant presence about it, however, it is no less run down. Three towers climb from its peak and its all Keith can do to not jump out of the truck to find out what lies at the top of them.

His legs shake as he exits the truck. He closes his eyes for a brief moment just to take in the sounds that flood his ears. When he opens them again he finds the blue-eyed man staring at him with an unreadable expression. He meets his eyes in an unwavering stare and Keith feels the curiosity well up in him as he stares back. He whistles one low note and feels Kosmo’s wet nose press against his knuckles that hang unclenched at his side. It isn't until after the Atlantian turns away that Keith realizes that he’s stopped shaking.

Two of the guards push open the doors to the castle and an older man steps out. So far all of the Atlanteans that Keith has seen have had pure white hair. This one, however, sports the brightest orange hair he has ever seen in his life. There's a bushy but well-groomed mustache sitting on his face and the man twirls the end of it as he stands to wait for the group to come to a stop.

Lotor turns to the crew and gestures for attention.

“Keith, Axca you two will come with me. The rest of you wait out here for further instruction.”

Keith rolls his eyes at the dramatic ponytail toss over the man’s shoulder as he turns and heads towards the doors. He follows behind Axca who heads off in the same direction.

“If you will all follow me.” The orange-haired man says sporting a strange, almost British, accent then turns his back and heads back into the castle. The blue-eyed man follows closely behind remaining silent and Keith follows just as quietly behind the others. The last to enter.

The three other guards who had traveled with them broke off and headed towards the left. No doubt in search of some kind of food.

The rest of them make it to the grand staircase that Keith can’t take his eyes off of.

The stairs themselves are masterfully made and are obviously the focal point of the room reaching up and then breaking off into two different directions. The condition of the steps, however, are not quite what he thought they would be.

Vines hang from the cracks running through the ceiling some reaching the ground in some areas. Leafy plants have found their way through the ground and wind themselves around the banister and the closer they get the more Keith can see the broken parts where the plants have completely destroyed the stonework. Bright pink flowers are braided between the green making the plant infestation a little less imposing with their brightly colored petals.

The incline is less steep then he originally thought. There's just, like, _a lot_ of stairs. So many that all of them are a little winded once they get to the floor that they need to be on.

“This way please.” The orange hair man says once the three upperworlders catch their breath.

The hallway they walk down is covered in what Keith recognizes as a mural. He can't quite make out what story it tells and finds himself slowing down in order to figure it out. A sharp-pointed cough from Lotor has him looking at the man who’s now a few feet ahead of him. Keith feels himself scowl at the commanders back before he picks up his pace.

It isn't too long after that that the small crew finds themselves at a large door intricately carved with five lion heads.

Their guide takes o hold of the handle and pushes it open speaking up as soon as he’s stepped into the room.

“Good evening your highness,” He says falling into a deep bow, “Your brother has returned.”

Someone stands at the window overlooking the city below, and Keith can tell by their posture that whatever conversation is about to happen will not be a good one.

They turn and Keith catches a glimpse at the crown that falls over their forehead.

_This must be the queen,_ he thinks as her eyes take in the people in the room. Her face betrays no emotion as her cold eyes survey them from where she’s still standing by the window. He shivers as she stops on him and glances at the bag slung across his shoulder. From the corner of his eye, he watches as mustache man kneels and then immediately follows his example bowing his head in recognition of her status.

She opens her mouth as soon as the two doors behind them close. The explorers aren’t meant to hear what she has to say which is obvious when Atlantean is what comes out of her mouth.

“ _You know the law, Lance. No outsiders may see the city and live.”_ She doesn't address the three outsiders in the room with her words. Her eyes are now trained on her brother.

_Lance,_ Keith’s brain supplies but it quickly brushed away at the sound of Lance’s voice calm and collected like what he’s saying has been said before.

“ _Allura, these people may be able to help us._ ” He says and there's not even a grimace from him as her eyes glow brighter with barely contained anger.

“ _We do not need their help.”_ She spits out and Keith can feel the venom in her voice course through his veins.

He catches sight of the advisor still in his bow stiffen at the words spoken from her mouth. He shoots a quick look at Lance to see his face fall at her words.

“ _Allura…”_ He says voice falling into a plea to at least hear him out. She’s having none of it.

“ _That is enough!”_ She says voice hard in a finality, _“We will discuss this later.”_ Judging by the look on the queens face this conversation is most definitely over, the final comment used in order to make Lance think twice about bringing up the topic again.

It's silent in the room once more and it's to Keith's horror that he hears boots scrape across the floor. His head shoots up to where Lotor is striding forward. Dread fills his gut at the smile gracing the commander's face. He shoots a look at the prince who’s staring back with a look that screams _what the fuck is this guy doing?_ All Keith can give as an answer is a shake of his head and a slight shrug.

“Your majesty.” Lotor says as he moves into a bow which he somehow makes look mocking, “On behalf of my crew may I say it is an honor to be welcomed to your city.”

The Queen’s face twists in annoyance and Keith can't help but agree, however, right now he needs to backtrack as quickly as he can.

“Uh...Commander?” He says hesitantly but it only gets him an irritated look from Lotor. He’s about to open his mouth to tell him that they should just leave but before he can get a word out Queen Allura is already speaking.

“You presume much to think you are welcome here.”

Her voice fills the room with an authority that cannot be ignored. Obviously this doesn't deter Lotor in any way as he stands up straight, eyes flashing as he begins an argument that Keith can already tell will not be won.

“Oh, Miss, we have come a long way looking for--”

“I know what you seek,” Allura cuts in, “and you will not find it here.”

“But we are peaceful explorers, men of science.”

At this, both Keith and Lance roll their eyes. There may be men of science within the group but Lotor is most definitely not one of them.

“And yet you bring weapons,” Allura says gesturing to the holster he’s strapped to his back, guns hanging just below his arms. Then again to the one that Axca has strapped to her leg. Keith griminces at the knife he usually keeps in his boot thankful that he left it in the truck fo the time being.

“Our weapons allow us to remove any… obstacles we may encounter.” Even to Keiths ears that sounds like a shitty retort and from the wince he catches from the prince he’s sure that he’s not the only one who hears it.

“Some obstacles cannot be removed by force.” Allura says rising to her full height and striding forwards, “Return to your people. You must leave Atlantis at once.”

“Your majesty be reasonable.”

It's this comment that has Keith really wanting to give in to the urge to punch this idiotic man before he gets them all killed. He cants though so he does the next best thing.

“Lotor, stop!” He says getting up from where he’s been kneeling, knowing that he’s breaking protocol for meeting a royal Atlantean but the anger coursing through his veins leaves him not caring if he’s being offensive.

Lotor looks at him with a glare that a few weeks ago would have had him rethinking calling out the commander. Thankfully he doesn't give a fuck about Lotor. Queen Allura is much scarier.

He turns to the Queen who looks back at him with an unreadable expression though Keith thinks he sees a flash of surprise in them as he steps forward to push Lotor back.

“ _Your majesty I apologize for any offense that was taken._ ” He starts out, speaking clearly in Atlantean that has a curious expression crossing Allura’s face as he continues.

“ _I know that this is much to ask, however, the journey home will take us weeks and unfortunately our supply of… sustenance was lost during the last leg of the journey here._ ” He can see exactly when Allura understands what he’s about to ask and that's when her face falls and a flash of anger can be seen in her eyes though she lets him carry on.

“ _I know you don’t want us here, but for the sake of what’s left of my crew, I ask if we could take a few days, replenish our stock, and build up morale. Then we will be out of your hair_.”

Allura’s mouth opens and Keith can tell that whatever is about to come out won’t be what he wants to hear.

“There is a small clearing outside of the city for you to stay.” another voice that has been silent for the majority of the conversation, speaks up. The entire room turns to face Lance as he continues speaking, clearly in English, but Lance keeps his eyes trained on Keith as if he’s the only one of importance in the room.

“There’s a pond not to far filled with fresh water that should help you...”

“I’m sorry, but I must speak to my brother,” Allura says effectively interrupting Lance and gestures to the advisor who, Keith has realized, has been watching him instead of listening to the Prince.

“Coran will show you out.”

Keith looks up at the prince just as Coran turns to escort them out of the building. Lance’s body deflates as they catch each other's eyes and Keith can feel his body do the same but he turns, bows to the queen, and leaves.

The walk back to the team is quiet. Keith can tell by the tightened posture of the commander that he is not at all happy about how that conversation happened.

Coran leads them through the twisting hallways before they make it back out into the open air. He pulls on Keith's arm as soon as the other two are through the doors and quietly whispers in his ear.

“ _Do not worry_ _young one. His highness knows what he’s doing. Wait here a moment and I will send someone to escort you to the clearing.”_

Keith sends a small smile in the man’s direction before whispering back.

“ _Thank you.”_ Is all he says before turning to catch up to the other two who are still making their way down the stairs to the rest of the group waiting for them.

“What do you think you were doing ?” Lotor spits as soon as they make it to the bottom.

Keith rolls his eyes.

“Saving your ass,” He says ignoring the undignified squeak that leaves the commanders lips.

“They were talking about killing us and you weren’t helping matters. I stepped in when it was obvious that your ‘negotiations’ were getting us nowhere. Your welcome.” He turns to walk towards the truck where Kosmo is nearly vibrating before Lotor can say anything.

A low whistle sounds from beside him and he looks down to see Pidge at his side with a smirk on their face.

“You looked like you wanted to punch him.” They say, bringing their hands up to clasp together behind their back. Keith snorts.

“He would have gotten us killed so sue me if I wanted to punch him.”

“Hows our Princey doing?” They ask following his gaze up to the castle.

His response is a shrug

“Alright let's move out,” Lotor calls out and Keith can see Coran standing beside him.

_Guess he was the only one who wanted to help us,_ Keith thinks as he climbs back into the truck.

He catches himself looking back up to the towers standing at attention high above the rest of the city.

_Not the only one,_ he corrects before they pull away headed back towards the forest.

~~~

As soon as the door has closed to the throne room Lance lets out a frustrated noise. Allura turns back to look out the window. It's a few moments before either of them say anything.

“Your heart has softened Lance,” Allura says and Lance is taken back by how softly its spoken, “A thousand years ago you would have slain them on sight.”

His face hardens at her words.

“A thousand years ago, the streets were lit and our people did not have to scavenge for food at the edge of a crumbling city!” He says voice forceful in hope of getting his point across to his Queen.

“The people are content.” She says back still turned to him though her voice takes on a rough tone.

His heart breaks as soon as the words are spoken and he can no longer keep the fury out of his voice as he speaks up.

“They’re fucking dying ‘Lura. They don’t know any better. We were once a great people. Now we live in ruins.”

At the sound of his anger, Allura turns to her brother's face unreadable.

“The Kings and Queens of our past would weep if they could see how far we have fallen.”

“Lance.” There's a warning in her voice that he refuses to acknowledge it in favor of pressing forward.

“If those outsiders can unlock the secrets of our past, maybe we can learn from them, maybe we can save our future.” He moves forward to stand right in front of her as he speaks his next words.

“Our way of life is dying Allura, and I will not stand to the side and watch you let it burn to the ground.”

The room falls to the silence. Lance holds his ground letting Allura search his face. He doesn't know what she’s looking for, doesn’t know if she’ll find it but whatever it is he hopes that it gets his point across.

He watches as she turns back around staring as the line of trucks makes their way down the hill and out of the city. No doubt on their way to the clearing.

“They have a week. See what you can learn.” Allura says. There's no emotion to her voice and while relief courses through Lance at an argument won he can't help but feel another wedge put into place between their sibling bond.

He nods his head even though Allura’s back is turned, and then leaves the room.

~~

Finding the outsiders is actually rather difficult.

Well, finding an outsider Lance actually trusts is rather difficult.

From where he’s hidden in the trees he observes the one they call Lotor instructing a group of soldiers into making multiple fires situated around the campsite.

He knows he probably should speak to the designated leader about the time limit on their stay here, however, there’s just something about the man that Lance doesn't like. he’s not quite sure what it is that he doesn't like but hed rather avoid him altogether than figure it out on his own.

Its why he’s still hidden in the shadows waiting to catch a glimpse of the one they call Keith.

A flash of grey catches his eye headed away from the camp and more towards the small pond a few minutes to the west. He turns fully to watch as Keith and Kosmo make their way through the trees together.

Lance follows them to the pond not far from where the crew has set up camp. As soon as they make it he watches as Kosmo jumps right in mesmerized by the clumsy elegance that the aminal uses to enter the water. He then turns to find Keith stripping off his shirt obviously getting ready to join his animal companion. He will never admit it but there were a few times during their journey that Lance found himself wondering what the raven looked like under the layers of clothing he usually wore. What he got was not what he expected.

Sure the man had a great physique, thin but with easily defined muscles. However, his entire torso is littered with different scars and scrapes that he can't seem to take his eyes off of. He swallows thickly as his eyes trail the thin puckered scar down from where it starts about halfway down his right side and disappears under the bottom half of his outfit.

Half of him wonders where he got a nasty scar like that one.

The other half wonders just how far down that scar goes.

As soon as that thought makes its way to his brain he immediately shakes it out and clears his throat. He steps out from where he’s still spying from the shadows. Which sounds way creepier than it probably should have been.

Keith has his back turned to him and from what he can tell has begun to take off the fabric he has covering his legs.

“Mind if I join you?” he asks once he’s made it to about two feet from the other man.

He immediately regrets it because as soon as the last word is out of his mouth he feels the cool touch of a blade at his throat not too hard to draw blood but enough to remind him to never do that again.

Keith blinks once, twice then seems to come back to himself as he jumps back a good three feet clutching the knife to his chest a terrified look crosses his face.

“Your Highness!” he manages to say, “What are you doing here?”

Lance rubs at the spot on his throat that he swears he can still feel the blade resting on his skin.

“Well I was going to ask you if you wanted company, but I guess that answered my question.”

Keith gives him an apologetic look as he puts the knife back down to rest inside his right boot.

“Sorry. I was kinda about to... well... clean off. Is there something I can do for you?”

In an instant, Lance’s mind is filled with a few different options on what exactly Keith can do for him but as quickly as they come they pass and with a glowing red face he focuses back in on the other man’s face. Decidedly not on his exposed chest.

“I just wanted to let you know that it was decided that you and your crew would be welcome to stay for a week, no more, until your crew has gathered enough supplies for your return journey to the surface.”

Keith silently nods his head and reaches up with his right hand to brush through the locks of hair falling in his face, effectively pulling them back letting lance get a glimpse of his face in its entirety.

He doesn't realize that he’s staring until Keith looks back at him one eyebrow raised.

“Is that all you needed?”

A quick cough to clear his throat before he brings his hand up to rub at the back of his neck.

“no, um yeah yeah, sorry yeah that's all I needed. I’ll let you get back to...” He gestures back towards the pond. Making Keith look in that direction.

“Yeah... thanks.” He says turning back around and nodding. Lance nods awkwardly in return before promptly turning and heading back into the thicket back towards the castle.

~~~

“was it just me or was that way more awkward than it needed to be,” Pidge says from behind him and Keith turns to see them staring back at where Lance has just disappeared from with a wide smirk plastered on their face.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.”

Keith rolls his eyes and strips off his pants leaving his boxers on and follows Kosmo into the water.

Pidge finds a perch on a rock not too far away and still hasn’t erased that embarrassing smirk off of their face. Keith does his best to ignore it as he plays around with his dog in the shallow water.

For the most part its silent. Pidge brings out their tablet and does... whatever it is they do while talking about some project or other they’re working on.

It's not long before the sky begins to dim and Keith and Kosmo are dry. So the three of them head back to the campsite where hunk no doubt has dinner waiting for them.

He grabs his notebook and the shepherds journal once more before finding his place around the campfire. Kosmo sitting at his feet waiting for any scraps that might drop even though he has his own food bowl with his own food sitting just a few feet away.

To his surprise, and to everyone else’s judging by the shock written on their faces, Lotor finds his way to the empty seat beside Pidge who’s face immediately scrunches up and tries to get up to move, but a sharp elbow to the stomach from Matt has them sitting back down. Though it does nothing to wipe the scowl from their face.

It's silent around the campfire for a few seconds as the small group of comrades exchange confused looks with each other over their commander who either remains oblivious or is acting like he's stupid. Either way, Keith is suspicious of Lotor’s sudden interest in their little group.

“I think the Queen is hiding something.”

Lotor’s comment has everyone around the campfire pausing. Some in mid-bite struggle to understand where the commander is going with this.

Shiro puts down his fork and leans forward slightly clearing his throat.

“What exactly do you think she’s hiding, sir?”

Lotor looks up from his plate in irritation.

“I don't know yet but if she is hiding something I want to know what it is.”

“Okay.” Hunk draws out as he taps his fork against his plate in a thoughtful rhythm.

When no one else speaks up, preferring to focus back in on eating, Lotor sighs in annoyance.

“Someone needs to talk to the prince.” He says throwing a very pointed look in Keith’s direction which everyone catches but the man himself who seems to have lost interest in the conversation and has the shepherds journal once again spread out in front of him on his lap as he absentmindedly feeds his dog, who sits at attention right in front of his legs, the scraps from his own plate.

Matt immediately catches onto the commander's thought process and looks in Keith's direction with a thoughtful look on his own face.

“Someone who won't scare him away.” He says once Keith fails to look up from what he’s doing.

“Someone who can speak the language.” Adam pipes up from his spot beside Shiro, his smirk growing the longer it takes for Keith to notice the direction this conversation is heading.

“Someone with a mullet?” Pidge supplies which makes Shiro bark out a laugh. Keith’s head raises from the book and he blinks in confusion.

“Sorry, what were we talking about?”

Lotor ignores Pidge’s mumblings about how it was the mullet comment to finally get the idiot to look up from his precious books and stands up to move towards Keith in a confident stride.

“Thanks for volunteering, Keith.” He says as he brings down a hand on the other man’s shoulder.

Shiro, to his right, snickers at the look Keith shoots him in a plead to explain what just happened.

“Go get him, tiger.” Is all the supplies before he gets up to throw out his paper plate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know this is like, two? Weeks behind... maybe three. I honestly lost count. 
> 
> In my defense taking care of three boys who are not your own children can take a lot out of you. 
> 
> Anywho you are not here to listen to my problems, you are here for Klance and Atlantis. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was s bitch to write and I still wasn't quite happy with how it turned out but oh well. 
> 
> Not sure when the next chapter will be. Hopefully, I can get back on schedule for you all!
> 
> Thanks for reading and please leave a comment below to tell me what you thought about it!


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